Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra. (File photo by Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday castigated the International Criminal Court (ICC) for not following its own rules by pushing to investigate the killings under the Philippine government’s bloody war against drugs.
Guevarra said the ICC is not following its own principle of complimentarity, which means that it will only work as a support to the member state’s system when there is no “genuine investigation and prosecution” being conducted.
“Is the ICC following its own principle of complimentarity? No. In so far as we are concerned, the complimentarity principle that underlies the workings of the ICC is not being followed by the ICC itself,” he said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.
Guevarra argued that the Philippines is already investigating the killings during the anti-drug campaign and does not need for the ICC to interfere.
“Your [ICC] role is simply complimentary. Only when there is no genuine investigation and prosecution being conducted by the domestic institutions may you come in but you are coming in despite the fact that we are doing what needs to be done in a genuine manner,” he added.
“So it’s you, the ICC, who is not following your own principles,” the Solicitor General added.
Guevarra made the statement after the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected the Philippine government’s request not to continue with its probe on the drug war killings while its appeal to ultimately stop the investigation is still pending.
READ: Marcos: PH ‘essentially disengaging’ from ICC after ‘failed’ appeal to defer ‘drug war’ probe
Drug war not a crime against humanity
Guevarra, who served as the Justice Secretary during the height of the drug war under the Duterte administration, said the government believes that the campaign against illegal drugs does not constitute a crime against humanity.
This is more reason the ICC does not need to intervene in the investigation, he said.
“We do not consider the war on drugs as a crime against humanity because it is a legitimate law enforcement operation,” he said.
“It’s called ‘war on drugs’, it’s not a war on drug users or a war on drug pushers. It’s a war against the crime itself. The operation called war on drugs does not fit on the concept of a crime against humanity,” the Solicitor General added.
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