Former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Raul Pangalangan, chairperson of the Truth Commission investigating killings linked to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, has rejected US President Donald Trump’s call for ICC member states to leave the tribunal.
In a statement, Pangalangan said the Truth Commission sees Trump’s call as “self-serving” and “irresponsible.”
Trump urged all ICC member states to “officially resign” from the tribunal during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday and called the court a “rogue institution.”
Pangalangan said Trump’s call could leave people who have suffered injustice around the world more vulnerable to abuses.
“In the Philippine context, this sustained attack against the ICC jeopardizes the hope of victims and survivors that justice is within reach,” Pangalangan said.
He said the country continues to grapple with the effects of impunity linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war, which resulted in thousands of deaths.
Duterte is currently facing proceedings before the ICC over alleged crimes against humanity stemming from killings in the Philippines.
“Duterte is now being tried in the ICC for crimes against humanity. He needs to undergo this process for justice,” Pangalangan said.
He added that an ICC “under siege” would prolong the search for accountability and the suffering of thousands of victims.
Pangalangan also renewed the Truth Commission’s call for the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to cooperate with the ICC and implement its arrest warrants.
He said this would demonstrate the government’s commitment to a rights-based international order.#