MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday expressed hope that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin would serve as a lesson to those who deny justice for the victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.
This follows the ICC issuing an arrest warrant over Putin’s alleged war crimes against Ukraine.
READ: ICC judges issue arrest warrant against Putin over alleged war crimes
“I can only hope that there is something to be learned from this. To those who continue to deny justice to victims of State-sponsored abuses, including the excesses of a failed Drug War, consider this fair warning,” said Hontiveros in a statement.
According to the senator, Putin’s arrest warrant serves as a reminder that the world is watching.
“The arrest warrant for President Putin is a strong message to the global community that the world will not idly watch while war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity are being committed within territories of individual countries,” she said.
Hontiveros said that while Moscow, Russia may deny the validity of the warrant, it still ensures that ICC member countries can arrest Putin.
“This already severely curtails movement of perpetrators. Further, Kyiv has accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC over crimes on its territory,” said the senator.
The ICC has reopened its investigation of the Philippines’ war on drugs. While no one stands trial yet, many of the country’s government officials have come to Duterte’s defense.
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