CREDIBLE INFO ONLY A screenshot of the opening window of the ICC Witness Appeal, a microsite collecting more information on the deadly drug war that left thousands dead, symbolized in a protest vigil (below), during the Duterte administration. —Richard A. Reyes
MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking more potential witnesses to the atrocities allegedly committed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in his brutal war on drugs in another effort that could speed up the ongoing investigation of the crimes against humanity he is being accused of.
ICC-accredited counsel Kristina Conti on Saturday said that The Hague-based tribunal last week launched an “ICC witness appeal” microsite dedicated solely to collecting “credible information” on the drug war.
The microsite—appeals.icc-cpi.int—will receive information in this crowdsourcing of evidence of human rights violations in Duterte’s war on drugs from Nov. 1, 2011, when he was Davao City mayor, until March 16, 2019, when the Philippines officially disengaged from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, on his orders.
READ: No better time to work with ICC
“Info[rmation] submitted will be kept confidential, but with consent, can be brought up during trial,” Conti said in a post on X on Saturday.
Conti, who also serves as a lawyer for families of victims of extrajudicial killings, said in a phone interview with the Inquirer that the ICC could have taken the move due to the fact that its investigators were still not welcome to freely conduct their inquiries into the antinarcotics campaign in the country.
Gov’t won’t stop probe
President Marcos has yet to reverse his position on the Philippines’ noncooperation with the ICC. But despite his stance, Marcos had said that he would not prevent the international tribunal from conducting any investigation.
Upon reaching the web page, the user will be prompted to choose between English and Filipino as the preferred language to be used before proceeding.
The ICC greets the user with this message: “The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC is investigating crimes committed in the Philippines as part of the ‘War on Drugs,’ between November 2011 and March 2019. The information you share will be reviewed and we will contact you if we have more questions.”
“We will review every submission, but cannot respond to everyone. In all cases, we thank you for your submission,” it adds.
The person who turns over information through the platform will be asked to describe the kind of crime, such as killing, detention, sexual violence and broadly identify the alleged perpetrator, like police, agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, government official or a “civilian vigilante.”
A “memorable word,” or password, will have to be provided by the potential witness to the ICC. This would serve as a means for the witness to authenticate the identity of the ICC staff who may want to reach out to get more information.
Relatives of the victims of extra-judicial killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war lights candle to commemorate their slain loved ones and call for justice during gathering at Caritas Manila in Pandacan, Manila. —Inquirer photo/Richard A. Reyes
Quality matters
Conti noted that the value and the kind of information submitted through this ICC platform would determine whether it would expedite the investigation.
“If the information they receive will not amount to anything, or the information won’t help in any way, then this won’t fast-track the investigation. So it will depend on the quality of information,” said Conti, the secretary general for Metro Manila of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers.
The new platform complements another microsite of the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor—OTPLink (otplink.icc-cpi.int)—which also receives information on alleged crimes within the jurisdiction of the international tribunal.
The crowdsourced information, which could be sent anonymously or with identification, will be analyzed by prosecutors headed by Karim Khan.
The ICC looks into cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression which are not being investigated and prosecuted in the country where these are being committed.
In the case of the Philippines, Duterte’s war on drugs and related crimes committed during the November 2011-March 2019 period is the only alleged crime being investigated by the ICC.
The Duterte administration reported that 6,252 people had been killed in the war on drugs during his six-year term. Human rights groups say the number could be as high as 30,000 and the victims mostly belonged to poor families in depressed communities.
Case status
Former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, one of the complainants who brought the case against Duterte before the international tribunal, earlier said that arrest warrants against principal suspects could be out within the year.
Copies of transcripts of the Senate and House inquiries into the drug war have been handed over to ICC prosecutors to serve as additional evidence should it become a full-blown case, according to Trillanes.
Conti said that the ICC investigators may seek specific evidence, such as documents, that a witness may have could be transmitted to them following certain protocols.
“Some witnesses would be summoned or interviewed in person and that’s when you hand over the documents,” she said. “It depends really on the kind of information you can offer.”
Some witnesses may want to submit police reports which the ICC prosecutors already have but may still be passed to them online, she said.
“But if you were Royina Garma, you would likely be interviewed,” Conti added, referring to the former police officer who said during a House inquiry that Duterte had used the bloody antidrug campaign in Davao as the template for the national war on drugs.