THE Philippine government thru the Office of the Solicitor General has formally asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to deny a request to resume its investigation into the deaths of suspected drug pushers killed during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

In a submission to ICC’s request to respond on Prosecutor Karim Khan’s application to resume investigation, the OSG questioned the propriety of the investigation pointing out that the Court has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.

Furthermore, the OSG stressed that the alleged unwarranted killings does not constitute crimes against humanity because the said incidents does not qualify as an attack against civilian population.

The OSG, which is being headed by former Justice secretary and now Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, explained that the killings of suspected drug pushers were not in furtherance of a state or organizational policy to commit such attack.

It continued that the said killings are now being investigated and prosecuted by the proper agencies like the Philippine National Police and Department of Justice.

“Under the complementarity principle, state-level investigative proceedings should take precedence, thereby rendering the resumption of the investigation unwarranted,” the OSG said.

Last December, the ICC announced that it was suspending investigation into the supposed atrocities committed during the campaign against illegal drugs to assess a deferral letter-request from the Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands.

The letter-request, dated November 10, 2021, told the ICC that the Philippine government was investigating the alleged crimes.

But a couple of months ago, Prosecutor Khan has asked the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, in a 53-page application, to authorize the resumption of their investigation into the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs that resulted to thousands of unnecessary deaths

In return, the ICC has asked the Philippine government to respond to Khan’s plea before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to resume their investigation into the bloody war on drugs.

The Philippine Justice Department led a panel of several government agencies, including law enforcement units, in reviewing 5,655 anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths to see whether to file charges against the police officers involved.

The DOJ has been granted unprecedented access to PNP’s records of deaths during the government’s war on drugs.#Deny request to resume probe into Duterte’s war on drugs, PH tells ICC

The Philippine government thru the Office of the Solicitor General has formally asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to deny a request to resume its investigation into the deaths of suspected drug pushers killed during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

In a submission to ICC’s request to respond on Prosecutor Karim Khan’s application to resume investigation, the OSG questioned the propriety of the investigation pointing out that the Court has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.

Furthermore, the OSG stressed that the alleged unwarranted killings does not constitute crimes against humanity because the said incidents does not qualify as an attack against civilian population.

The OSG, which is being headed by former Justice secretary and now Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, explained that the killings of suspected drug pushers were not in furtherance of a state or organizational policy to commit such attack.

It continued that the said killings are now being investigated and prosecuted by the proper agencies like the Philippine National Police and Department of Justice.

“Under the complementarity principle, state-level investigative proceedings should take precedence, thereby rendering the resumption of the investigation unwarranted,” the OSG said.

Last December, the ICC announced that it was suspending investigation into the supposed atrocities committed during the campaign against illegal drugs to assess a deferral letter-request from the Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands.

The letter-request, dated November 10, 2021, told the ICC that the Philippine government was investigating the alleged crimes.

But a couple of months ago, Prosecutor Khan has asked the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, in a 53-page application, to authorize the resumption of their investigation into the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs that resulted to thousands of unnecessary deaths

In return, the ICC has asked the Philippine government to respond to Khan’s plea before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to resume their investigation into the bloody war on drugs.

The Philippine Justice Department led a panel of several government agencies, including law enforcement units, in reviewing 5,655 anti-drug operations that resulted in deaths to see whether to file charges against the police officers involved.

The DOJ has been granted unprecedented access to PNP’s records of deaths during the government’s war on drugs.