Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte 'could face international court'

[Pinoy]

Bangkok: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte could face international criminal charges as the death count in his relentless war on drugs tops almost 2000, human rights advocates say.

Comments by the tough-talking former provincial mayor such as "all of you are into drugs, you sons of bitches … I will kill you" could be used as evidence to prosecute him, they say.

Sam Zarifi from the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) says it is likely that as the killings continue lawyers will gather evidence to initiate legal proceedings against Mr Duterte like 9541 victims of the late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos did in the United States in the 1990s.

In 1995 a US court awarded the victims $US1.9 billion after finding that Marcos, who died in exile in 1989, was responsible for massive human rights abuses, including torture, murder and "disappearances of fellow Filipinos".

At the time lawyers said the verdict set a ground-breaking precedent upholding the principle that military "command responsibility" for wartime misconduct is applicable in a class-action suit alleging peacetime human rights abuses by the agents of a political leader.

Mr Zarifi, the ICJ's regional director for Asia and Pacific, told the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand that the killings in the Philippines since 71-year-old Mr Duterte was swept into office at May elections are widespread and systematic, meeting the criteria under international law of crimes against humanity that could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

People stage a "die-in" to protest the rising number of extra judicial killings related to Philippine President Rodrigo
Duterte's "War on Drugs". Photo: AP

"I am not holding my breath for international action but if these (killings) continue at the same velocity I would expect cases to start popping up," he said.

Mr Zarifi said Mr Duterte has made many comments that could be used against him in foreign courts, including several weeks ago declaring: "My order is to shoot to kill. I don't care about human rights … this is a war against drugs and we have to fight it."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: AP
Phelim Kine, Human Rights Watch's Asia director, described the first weeks of Mr Duterte's rule as "nothing less than absolute human rights disaster".

"We have the highest elected official of the land openly, actively, aggressively calling for the extrajudicial killing of criminal suspects," he said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, right, poses for a selfie with a returning Filipino worker. Photo: AP
"The numbers are absolutely shocking."

Mr Duterte promised during the election campaign that 100,000 people would die in his drugs crackdown and that fish in Manila Bay would grow fat from eating bodies.

A woman cries beside her dead husband after armed assailants in a motorcycle shot him in a main thoroughfare in July in Manila, Philippines. Photo: Getty
But amid condemnation from human rights groups, the United Nations, the United States, the Catholic Church and some politicians, Mr Duterte has in recent weeks denied security forces have carried out extra-judicial killings, saying police have only killed in self-defence.

The latest police data shows that around 1000 accused drug suspects have been killed in police operations and another around 1000 in shootings by unidentified assailants.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody anti-drugs campaign has claimed thousands of lives. Photo: AP
Opinion polls show approval of Mr Duterte continues to hover around 90 per cent in the country of 100 million people with one of Asia's highest rates of illegal drug use and crime.

Mr Duterte claims there are more than three million drugs users in the country.

More than 600,000 have surrendered to police since July 1, packing prisoners into already overcrowded jails.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/philipp...over-drug-war-casualties-20160901-gr6an0.html

 

[Economic superpower]

I support Duterte. These drug cartels must be eliminated. The human rights goons can go to hell.

 

[Brainsucker]

For a president to order such an operation means that the drug dealer problem in Philippine is already very frightening? If it's true, then I wish you success

 

[艹艹艹]

support Duterte.

 

[war&peace]

First a line must be drawn between the drug traffickers / sellers and addicts.
Addicts should be treated as victims in this and they should be provided medical attention to reover. While traffickers / seller must be apprehended and tried in the court of law otherwise it will give rise to state sponsored terrorism and this will open a door for a lot of crimes against humanity in the name of drugs and state will that against its own people.

 

[Raphael]

Interesting. If Duterte dismisses the charges as lacking jurisdiction, can he still rely on the illegal arbitration result from the so -called 'PCA'? What can make one ruling from a kangaroo court set up in someone's garage legitimate, but another illegitimate?

 

[livingdead]

is drug situation that bad in Philippines that people are encouraged to kill drug dealers? what if i kill my neighbor to settle personal score and sprinkle some crack on his dead body?

 

[+4vsgorillas-Apebane]

Its the Chinese part of him that is ordering the crackdown on drugs and destroying its menace.

 

[Anjo]

Whatever mandate these "human rights activists" are trying to achieve with Duterte, they need to realize that they have much bigger issues elsewhere around the world.

 

[Anubis]

He is new to these extra judicial killing business...he should come to BD and take a 1 month course in the art of "CROSSFIRE".

 

[Anjo]

First a line must be drawn between the drug traffickers / sellers and addicts.
Addicts should be treated as victims in this and they should be provided medical attention to reover. While traffickers / seller must be apprehended and tried in the court of law otherwise it will give rise to state sponsored terrorism and this will open a door for a lot of crimes against humanity in the name of drugs and state will that against its own people.

I agree with all your points especially the last part. My first instinct was to compare this issue with what other countries have done with their own war of drugs. Personally I'd rather the government spend its money on helping victims through rehab. Its a whole different case in the Philippines though if you count the thousands of people that have willingly surrendered to the police. I would give the police and by extension the Duterte the benefit of the doubt for now that they do their mandate accordingly.

 

[Cossack25A1]

Whatever mandate these "human rights activists" are trying to achieve with Duterte, they need to realize that they have much bigger issues elsewhere around the world.

Last time I check, aren't drug smugglers and the likes of them violate human rights of other people as they destroy lives?

 

[Anjo]

Last time I check, aren't drug smugglers and the likes of them violate human rights of other people as they destroy lives?

That is correct. Its not that I stand for extrajudicial killings or vigilantism, I'm just bemused that these activists on their stand against Duterte whilst completely ignoring the side of these drug dealers/pushers.

 

[Cossack25A1]

That is correct. Its not that I stand for extrajudicial killings or vigilantism, I'm just bemused that these activists on their stand against Duterte whilst completely ignoring the side of these drug dealers/pushers.

What most people don't get is that several of the people involved in illegal drug trafficking, if will be arrested, they will fight back specially if they have a gun.

 

[Pinoy]

We are now in the process of PURGING our country. In any kind of war you cannot eliminate casualties. He is not murderer like paid bias media is projecting to the the world but he a kind of leader who wants to PROTECT the lives of many innocent people.

For a president to order such an operation means that the drug dealer problem in Philippine is already very frightening? If it's true, then I wish you success

Drugs are destroying the moral fiber of our society, 92% of our communities are already contaminated with drugs, rampant killings, rape, robbery are abound. Teenagers as young as 13 are now addicted to drugs. Even some of the government officials are getting bribes and even the ones selling and pushing drugs.

If President Duterte won't act. What will happen to our society? Drugs are dumbing down and wasting the lives of Filipinos. WE ARE NOW AT WAR WITH DRUGS and this is really a HUGE problem for us. We don't want killings but we don't want drug addicts killing the lives of innocent people too.