Trillanes, Alejano press int’l court to probe EJKs

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano on Tuesday filed a supplemental communication with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, asking the tribunal to step in and investigate President Duterte for his bloody antidrugs war after government has shown no interest in making the chief executive accountable for his alleged crimes against humanity.

“It is now for the Office of the Prosecutor to take cognizance of this case and render justice to the thousands of victims in the Philippines,” the opposition lawmakers said in their 45-page communication.
“We respectfully submit that there is an urgency to conduct a preliminary examination on the allegations propounded herein in order to pre-empt and prevent further commission of crimes against humanity in the Philippines.”

They argued that the government was unwilling to move against President Duterte, citing the swift defeat in May of an impeachment complaint Alejano filed at the House of Representatives.

The lawmakers also mentioned the Senate’s quick termination of an investigation that touched on the Davao Death Squad and its links to President Duterte when he was the long-time mayor of Davao City.

“As to the gravity of the crimes alleged, in all government admitted data, thousands have already died in Duterte’s war on drugs. That fact alone speaks of the gravity of the case at hand,” the complaint said.

Article 17 of the Rome Statute of the ICC provides that the international tribunal can consider the admissibility of a case if a state is unwilling or unable to carry out an investigation.

The filing comes almost a month after lawyer Jude Josue Sabio asked the ICC to charge Mr. Duterte and 11 other politicians and government officials with mass murder and crimes against humanity for the thousands of deaths that have resulted from the administration’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs.

Sabio is the lawyer of Edgar Matobato, the self-confessed Davao Death Squad hit man who claimed Mr. Duterte as Davao City mayor masterminded the vigilante-style killings of criminals.

In addition to President Duterte and the 11 government officials accused by Sabio, the Trillanes-Alejano complaint named 11 police officials who the lawmakers alleged were complicit in the state-sponsored killing of drug suspects.

They are Manila Police District head Chief Supt. Joel Coronel; Chief Supt. Jesus Martirez; Chief Insp. Rexson Layug; Senior Insp. Nathaniel Jacob, Magdalino G. Pimentel Jr., and Markson S. Almeranez; SPO3 Jonathan Bautista; PO3 Ronald Buad Alvarez; PO1 Sherwin Mipa; and Police Officers Edmar Latagan and Marcelino Pedrozo III.

The inclusion of the police officials was based on news reports and the affidavit of PO1 Vincent Tacorda of the Catanduanes police force.

Tacorda is possibly the first police officer to put on record that his superiors gave orders after Mr. Duterte’s assumption to office in June last year to ensure that drug suspects were killed as part of their “accomplishment report.”