Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday said the resolution filed by former president and now House Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and several lawmakers was merely a "political move to protect" former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte from International Criminal Court's (ICC) possible investigation on drug war.
In a statement, HRW senior researcher Carlos Conde said the resolution has no bearing in the ICC probe.
"It's clearly a political move to protect Duterte. They're merely circling the wagon. But it's immaterial as far as the resumption of investigation goes," he said.
Conde underlined that the national government could have get out from the investigation only if it demonstrated that it was willing and able to "deliver justice" for drug war victims.
"The government was given the opportunity to show that its justice system was working enough to make the ICC superfluous. The pre-trial chamber came to the conclusion that it failed," the HRW senior researcher said.
In January, the ICC pre-trial chamber (ICC-PTC) approved the request of Prosecutor Karim Khan to resume the investigation into the alleged crimes and human rights abuses committed during the Duterte Administration's bloody war on drugs campaign.
The chamber underlined that it is not satisfied that “the Philippines is undertaking relevant investigations, or is making a real or genuine effort to carry out such investigations.
Arroyo and 18 other lawmakers filed House Resolution No. 780 urging the House of Representatives to defend Duterte against ICC.
