The failure of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during his administration culminated in his arrest and eventual transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Netherlands, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

“Hindi nagampanan ng administrasyon ni dating pangulong Duterte iyong pangako, iyong undertaking na sila ay magsasagawa ng pag-iimbestiga at magsasampa ng karampatang kaso,” PCO Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

“Kung mayroon po sigurong dapat sisihin kung bakit nagpatuloy ang ICC, iyon na rin po ay ang dating administrasyon dahil hindi sila agad kumilos sa mga kasong ito na nirereklamo patungkol sa madugong war on drugs,” she said.

In November 2021, the Duterte administration requested the ICC to suspend its investigation into the war on drugs, assuring that it would conduct its investigation and hold accountable those found liable.

In June 2022, before President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assumed office, the ICC prosecutor said the Duterte administration fell short in its commitment to undertake an investigation and charge the EJK perpetrators. Castro said that this failure prompted the ICC to resume the inquiry.

Asked to comment on the Marcos administration’s authority to investigate extrajudicial killings, Castro said: “Kaya po nasimulan ang paghi-hearing sa (House of Representatives) Quad Comm (committee). Doon natin nalaman at doon naibulaslas kung ano ba ang nangyari sa panahon ni dating pangulong Duterte.”

Duterte is now in ICC custody in The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity related to his violent war on drugs during his administration. | PND