Senator Francis Escudero (PNA file photo by Wilnard Bacelonia)
MANILA – Senator Francis Escudero has said the recent statement of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte reiterating that letting the International Criminal Court (ICC) enter the country and pursue its investigation on the war on drugs is an insult to Filipinos and the Philippine justice system.
In a tweet on Friday, Escudero shared a previous explanation by late former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago who was also elected as the first Filipino and the first Asian to serve as an ICC judge in 2011.
"VP Sara has a point re: ICC... as the late former senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago (the sponsor of the resolution ratifying the Rome statute in the Senate) explained it succinctly and funnily," Escudero said in his tweet sharing a Tiktok video of the former ICC judge.
Santiago explained in the video that ICC could only take up exceptional cases where a local court has failed to bring justice because "that court is unwilling, or unable to investigate or prosecute those who have the highest responsibility for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community."
"Kaya nakikita mo na dito na kung merong ginawang kasalanan dito sa nakalista na mga jurisdiction ng ICC, ang magbibisita niyan ay ang korte doon sa bayan na yon, hindi ang (That's why you will see here that if there are liabilities under this list of ICC jurisdictions, the one which will handle that is the court in that country, not the) International Criminal Court in The Hague. International Criminal Court which as I've said is a court of last resort," Santiago said in the video.
Apart from denying the accusations of retired police officer Arturo Lascañas, a confessed member of the alleged Davao Death Squad, in a statement on Thursday, Vice President Duterte also challenged the retired cop and the people behind him to file cases against her in a local court. (PNA)
