Whether reports of the presence of investigators from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Philippines is true or not, Karapatan reiterates its call to the ICC prosecutors to conclude their investigation with dispatch and formally indict former president Rodrigo Duterte and his co-conspirators for their responsibility in the bloody war on drugs.
The Filipino people, who are eager for justice, wish to pursue the case against Duterte and his cohorts in the ICC and in all other avenues in order to hold them accountable for their crimes.
There has been zero accountability since Duterte unleashed his gruesome drug war, with the very few convictions attaining just a drop in the bucket in the face of up to 30,000 victims extrajudicially slain in both official anti-drug operations and police-sanctioned vigilante killings.
Neither can Ferdinand Marcos Jr. escape accountability for the drug war-related killings under his watch, which continue due to his conscious perpetuation of Duterte’s repressive anti-drug policies. The number of victims under Marcos Jr. stands at 509 as of January 7, 2024, according to the Third World Studies Programs’ Dahas Project.
Justice is just as elusive for the victims in the extrajudicial killings of civilians, including activists, human rights defenders, dissenters and others perceived to be enemies of the state. Under Duterte, 442 civilians were extrajudicially killed, and another 574 survived attempts on their lives. Under Marcos Jr., the number already stands at 87 since he took power a year and a half ago. This is because the same fascistic and murderous policies imposed by Duterte are being pursued by his successor.
Karapatan joins the victims in urgently calling for truth, justice, accountability and an end to the culture of impunity that has shielded criminals like Duterte, Marcos Jr. and their subalterns for so long. #