MANILA, Philippines — Detained former senator Leila de Lima on Wednesday said the world of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte and his “cohorts” are “getting smaller” following the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) appeals chamber decision.
On Wednesday, the ICC appeals chamber denied the motion for reconsideration of the Philippine government to stop the international body’s investigation into the war against illegal drugs launched by the Duterte administration.
READ: ICC junks PH plea to stop probe into deaths linked to war vs. drugs
Duterte and 11 others were accused of crimes against humanity before the ICC.
“This is justice falling hard on Duterte and his cohorts as they find their world getting smaller, especially once the BBM [Bongbong Marcos] Administration decides not to actively resist ICC efforts to arrest them here in the Philippines,” said De Lima, who has been detained since February 24, 2017, months after launching a Senate inquiry into Duterte’s drug war.
“Now it is Duterte’s time to answer for his crimes against God and the Filipino people.
“Soon, it will also be his moment to plead for mercy once his world gets as small as the ICC prison cell that is already waiting for him in The Hague,” she added.
READ: De Lima disappointed over inhibition of another judge in final drug case, chides prosecution
De Lima also noted that the government could no longer appeal the decision of the ICC, which would later proceed to issue indictments and warrants of arrest.
“This is the last attempt of the Philippine Government to go to the aid of those responsible for the murder of thousands of Filipinos in Duterte’s drug war.
“From hereon, the OTP [Office of the Prosecutor] will soon come out with specific indictments, together with the issuance of arrest warrants, hopefully before the end of the year. By that time, the accused can no longer be represented and aided by the Philippine government but instead have to face the ICC on their own,” De Lima added.
However, Duterte remains unbothered by the accusations, according to Senator Bato Dela Rosa, who is also accused of crimes against humanity before the ICC since he served as the Philippine National Police chief under the previous administration.
Following the accusation against him, Duterte declared the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, or the treaty that established the ICC, in March 2018.
READ: Duterte does the inevitable, declares PH withdrawal from ICC
The withdrawal took effect a year after or in March 2019.
Despite this, the ICC retained jurisdiction over alleged crimes in the Philippines — from November 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019 — while the country was still a state party.