NUPL, Rise Up: House defense of Duterte against ICC probe is ‘suspiciously premature’

Former presidents Rodrigo Duterte and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo share a light moment during a ceremony in Pampanga where the provincial government declared the former Davao City mayor an adopted son on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. (Photo by Tonette Orejas)

MANILA, Philippines — The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) on Friday criticized the House’s proposal to defend former president Rodrigo Duterte against the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe.

Ex-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other lawmakers filed a House Resolution on Wednesday asserting that the Philippines had a working justice system that could look into charges Duterte may face for his bloody war on drugs.

READ: Arroyo rallies House to defend Duterte vs ICC drug war probe 

“Again, there [is] no trial or named accused as yet before the ICC. The “defense” is suspiciously premature,” said NUPL in a joint statement with Rise Up for Life and for Rights.

According to the groups, the resolution is “mere posturing”, as it will not hinder the ICC probe.

They pressed further, calling the country’s judicial process politicized, and raised alarm over the apparent resistance to fact-finding.

The two groups said that the move “eerily harks back to Arroyo’s own time as a president when cases of extrajudicial killings, desaparecidos and torture also heavily occurred.”

“Providing a blanket of protection only points that there can be no fair, comprehensive, and objective inquiry into the thousands of deaths resulting from Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines,” said  NUPL and Rise Up.

RELATED STORIES:

ICC resumes probe on PH’s drug war  

Bongbong Marcos: PH won’t rejoin ICC; critics hit decision 

JPV