‘KILL KILL KILL’ (3)

HINDI nagkulang ang international community upang magbabala sa masamang ibinubunga ng war on drugs ni Gongdi. Ngunit galit pa si Gongdi at sa tingin niya, pakikialam ito. Bahagi ito ng unang tsapter ng aking aklat “KILL KILL KILL Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines; Crimes Against Humanity vs. Rodrigo Duterte Et. Al.” Pakibasa:

DUTY TO PROBE EJKS

THE briefing paper, which the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) gave to Rodrigo Duterte seven weeks after he was sworn in as president was pivotal because it has laid down what it considered the duty of the state to probe extrajudicial killings. It said unequivocally:

“Under international law, the Philippines is obliged to investigate extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings. This duty arises from the general obligation to respect and guarantee human rights, which is enshrined in Article 2(1) of the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, or ICCPR]. According to the UN Human Rights Committee, the legal obligation under Article 2(1) of the ICCPR is both negative and positive: while States parties must refrain from violating the rights recognized in the Covenant (e.g. they must not arbitrarily deprive persons of their life), States must also adopt legislative, administrative, judicial, educative and other necessary measures to protect these rights (e.g. they must protect against arbitrary deprivation of life, including by holding perpetrators to account).

“If the State fails to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings, this could in and of itself give rise to a violation of the Covenant.

“The Human Rights Committee has further explained that the duty to investigate arises from the obligation of States Parties to the ICCPR to provide an effective remedy to victims of human rights violations, set out in Article 2(3) of the ICCPR, when read in conjunction with the right to life under Article 6.13 This duty is also an aspect of the obligation to respect, ensure respect for and implement international human rights law within the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law.”

The punchline:

“Investigations of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings must be thorough, prompt, impartial and independent.

“Investigations of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings should be geared towards establishing the crime committed and prosecuting those responsible for these crimes. Truth commissions or any group organized merely to establish “historical truth”, without intending to establish the facts of the extrajudicial killings and prosecuting those responsible, do not complete or substitute the State’s obligation to investigate under international law.”

RECOMMENDATIONS. The discussions would be incomplete without mentioning the ICJ’s recommendations to serve as the roadmap to the appropriate handling of the spate of EJKs in accordance with international law. Broadly, it asked the government of Rodrigo Duterte to conduct “prompt, independent and effective investigations into allegations of extrajudicial killings in the country.”

It asked the Philippine government to perform the following:

• Direct the prosecutors under the Department of Justice to investigate the EJKs, using what it described “the Department’s established investigative procedures. If such procedures are found to be inadequate because of lack of expertise or impartiality, the Government of the Philippines should convene an independent commission of inquiry to conduct such investigations.

• Physicians, preferably those with expertise in forensic pathology, should be included in the body tasked to investigate extrajudicial killings.

• The body tasked to investigate extrajudicial killings, whether it is the Department of Justice or an independent commission of inquiry, should investigate all cases, regardless of whether or not a formal complaint has been filed.

• The body tasked to investigate extrajudicial killings should be given all necessary resources for it to be able to adequately undertake its task.

The ICJ further laid down the parameters of future investigations of the EJKs:

• As an immediate priority and noting that many of the victims remain unidentified, the body tasked to conduct the investigation of extrajudicial killings should identify all the victims and the cause and manner of death.

• Family members of all the victims must be informed immediately.

• The body tasked to conduct investigations into extrajudicial killings must provide information to the families of victims and their legal representatives, keeping them up-to-date on the progress and status of the investigations.

• The safety of witnesses and complainants must be guaranteed. They should be protected from any form of reprisal and/or intimidation, as a consequence of their providing information or evidence.

• The body tasked to investigate the extrajudicial killings must submit a written report within a reasonable time on the methods and findings of its investigations. It must make this report public.

• The Government of the Philippines should prosecute and bring to justice, in proceedings in line with international standards of due process and with the guarantee not to impose the death penalty, those persons identified in the written report of the investigations as having participated in the extrajudicial killings.

• Families of victims of extrajudicial killings should be entitled to fair and adequate compensation, rehabilitation, and satisfaction within a reasonable period of time.

• The conduct and outcomes of the investigations and prosecutions should be aimed at establishing guarantees of non-recurrence by drawing necessary lessons for revising practices and policies with a view to avoiding repeated violations.

INTERFERENCE. Duterte violently reacted to the ICJ’s letter, describing it as “interference” into the Philippine internal affairs. Duterte made a series of condemnations on the criticisms lodged against him in several public engagements and fora. He claimed that the ICJ prognosis and its recommendations were outrageously wrong and way out of line. Virtually frothing at the mouth in anger, Duterte rejected without reservations the ICJ recommendations and warned not just the ICJ, but the entire global human rights community that they face arrest and murder too – if its advocates enter the Philippines.

In what appeared to be his way to turn the table against the people in illegal drug trade, Duterte came out with a purported list of about 1,000 personalities, whom he alleged to have been involved in illegal drugs.8 Duterte brandished the list in several fora and mentioned names, whom, he said, were listed, but no independent confirmation came out on the veracity and integrity of his much ballyhooed list of over 1,000 names. Neither did he mention and explain any process of vetting the list. They were all just claims, albeit empty and done in an atmosphere of bravura and bravado. Incidentally, some names he mentioned were long dead or ailing. It was an exercise in futility as the list was virtually of very little or no value at all.

Rodrigo Duterte went to the extent of encouraging police officers to keep on killing suspects (drug users, pushers, and retailers etc.) under his war on drugs. In several speech engagements, Duterte used the line “sagot ko kayo (I’m answerable for you)” as his way to assuage their hesitation to go on killing sprees. His line could have pepped up the law enforcers for the official statistics on EJKs kept on going up for a while. (Itutuloy)