Colmenares urges Leila de Lima to testify vs Duterte before ICC

FILE PHOTO: Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares. SENATE FILE

MANILA, Philippines — Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares on Thursday urged former Senator Leila De Lima to testify before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on former President Rodrigo Duterte’s case.

“Former Sen. Leila de Lima could be a resource person, should she want to, in the pending cases against Ex-President Duterte in the ICC. She has knowledge of the Davao Death Squads (DDS) based on her investigation of the DDS, not only as the DOJ Secretary but also when she was the Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights,” Colmenares said in a statement.

“We urge Sen. De Lima to testify before the ICC and help in the search for justice by the families of the victims of extra-judicial killings during the reign of ex-president Duterte,” he added.

Colmenares, a counsel in the case against Duterte filed by Rise Up for Life, said De Lima could be a witness or a complainant.

“In fact, she can even be a complainant in the various cases filed with the ICC. We urge her to consider being a complainant herself,” he said.

Colmenares noted that in the complaint filed by Rise Up for Life, the complainants charged the former president not only for murder but also for other “inhumane acts.”

He stressed that Rise Up for Life specifically cited De Lima’s case in their 2018 complaint.

“Her persecution and detention started when she was arrested on February 24, 2017, long before the effectivity of the Philippine withdrawal from the ICC on March 17, 2019. Her case therefore falls within the ambit of the cases still pending before the ICC,” Colmenares said.

READ: Leila de Lima’s lawyers say she’s interested in helping ICC

“If Sen. Leila has already filed a complaint with the ICC, then that in fact greatly facilitates her testimony, as she can be directly a complainant herself and therefore should be allowed to testify,” he added.

READ: Drug war critics file complaint vs Duterte for ‘crimes against humanity’

Colmenares then urged the ICC prosecutor to consider the former senator as a witness or a complainant in the pending cases against Duterte.

“We reiterate our call to Pres. Marcos to allow the ICC prosecutors to enter the Philippines to investigate, if only to help make the ICC investigation accessible to the families of victims of EJK [extrajudicial killings] under Duterte who have long searched for justice and accountability for the death of their loved ones,” he concluded.