MANILA, Philippines — Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said he expects the International Criminal Court (ICC) to carry on with its investigation on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs campaign.
He made this statement shortly after the Netherlands-based court said it is suspending its investigation on Duterte’s war on drugs which came after the Philippine government asked the ICC to postpone its investigation on the alleged crimes against humanity.
Trillanes said the ICC’s move is part of its “due process in determining whether the government’s extrajudicial killings investigation is genuine.”
“In a few months, the ICC will also find out that it is just part of the cover up of Duterte and, therefore, we should expect it to resume its investigation,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
The Duterte administration previously asked for the probe to be deferred to give way for domestic efforts in investigating the alleged crimes.
However, Trillanes said: “With the deferment request, the Duterte administration formally recognized ICC’s jurisdiction over it, which is a total reversal of their earlier assertions,” Trillanes said.
In a report on its deferral of investigation, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said that they will request the country for additional information to determine the “scope and effect of the deferral request” and evaluate whether they should continue the investigation.
However, Kham added that the prosecution will continue its analysis of information already in its possession, and new information it may receive from third parties, and “actively assess the need for applications to the pre-trial chamber for authority to conduct necessary investigative steps for the preservation of evidence.”