Investigate Duterte’s crimes against the Filipino People! Hold Duterte accountable!
Malaya Movement USA supports the resolutions put forth by several House representatives to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigations of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly War on Drugs and extrajudicial killings starting from his time as Davao City Mayor. We condemn the Marcos-Duterte administration and its cronies for consistently blocking any attempts to hold dictator Duterte accountable for his crimes against the Filipino people.
The ICC began its examinations on Duterte’s deadly war on drugs in February 2018 and expanded its scope to include Duterte’s time as Davao City Mayor starting in 2011, where extrajudicial killings were also rampant. Duterte immediately called for the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2018. The Philippines officially exited in 2019 in a clear show of contempt for justice and accountability by the Duterte regime.
While the Philippines postured that it would conduct its own investigations and pleaded for the ICC to postpone, the ICC greenlit the resumption of examinations earlier this year after the Philippine government, now under Marcos Jr., failed to show any credible reports that were up to par with the ICC’s own standards.
We condemn Marcos Jr. and his cronies for feigning sovereignty now in the face of these resolutions calling for the ICC investigations to continue. By acceding to the Rome Statute in 2011, the Philippines agreed to have its criminal cases be under the jurisdiction of the ICC during the time of its membership. Let us be clear: under Marcos Jr. these disingenuous claims of upholding “sovereignty” are merely another instance of the government’s impunity, corruption, and injustice in full force. While Marcos Jr. has also publicly entertained the possible return of the Philippines to the ICC, this is a contradictory statement in light of his staunch stance that the Philippines has a fully capable justice system that is equipped to handle these proceedings.
We call on Malaya Movement USA members and allies to continue to push for justice for the victims of Duterte’s crimes. We urge the public to pressure their legislators to support the Philippine Human Rights Act to stop military aid to the Philippines until independent investigations are conducted into the human rights violations and until the fascist attacks on the Filipino people cease.
