The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor to resume its probe on suspected human rights abuses during President Rodrigo Duterte's war against drugs.
The chief prosecutor of the ICC suspended the probe following a deferral request from the Philippine government, which said that the country's Department of Justice (DOJ) is already investigating the alleged killings during the drug war.
But FLAG, chaired by senatorial aspirant Chel Diokno, penned a letter to ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan urging him to continue the investigation.
"The Free Legal Assistance Group of the Philippines respectfully requests the Office of the Prosecutor to immediately lift the suspension of the investigation into the situation of the Philippines," it said in the letter.
According to FLAG, DOJ's investigation only covers a "fraction of the killings or attempted killings which occurred within the scope of the ICC investigation."
The group pointed out that of the 52 cases allegedly investigated by the Justice Department, only 36 occurred within the July 1 2016, and March 16 2019 period that is covered by the ICC investigation.
"Not a single killing that occurred between the 1 November 2011 and 30 June 2016 in Davao was included among the 52 cases allegedly investigated," it added.
FLAG also said that it is "misleading" to call DOJ's actions as "investigation" because the department only reviewed documents provided by the Internal Affairs Service of the Philippine National Police (IAS/PNP).
"The DOJ 'investigation' did not include any findings or conclusions, but mere 'observations,' largely on the lack — or paucity – of documents provided by the IAS/PNP," it added.
The group said that there were no witnesses, survivors, or family members who participated in the DOJ "investigation."
It added that the DOJ probe also placed on victims the burden to prove that the killings were unlawful, which is inconsistent with Philippine law and jurisprudence where the burden of proving that the killings were lawful must be on law enforcement officers.
"FLAG therefore urges you to lift the suspension of the investigation into the situation of the Philippines forthwith," FLAG said.
FLAG's letter to Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC requesting the lifting of the suspension order on the investigation in the Philippines (1/2) pic.twitter.com/IobJAcfmc0
— Ted Te (@TedTe) November 22, 2021
