by Dr Walden Bello, Amnesty International Philippines’ Most Distinguished Defender of Human Rights Awardee (2023)
I landed in Seattle to the news of former President Rodrigo Duterte being arrested on a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court. I fully support his arrest, which I have urged along with many others, so that he can be tried for the extra-judicial execution of some 27,000 Filipinos, most of them committed before the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 and for which crimes, therefore, Duterte is legally liable. The procedures for his arrest were observed, with meticulous respect for the due process that he never granted his thousands of victims. One may, of course, have questions about the intentions of the Marcos Jr administration and I certainly am aware that the arrest took place amidst an intensifying power struggle between two dynasties for which I have the utmost contempt. Still, Duterte’s being brought to justice was an obligation incurred by the Philippine state that transcended the temporary holders of its permanent powers and duties. The validity and integrity of its execution does not depend on the character of the agent that carried it out. Duterte will have his day in court, a right that he did not respect when he ordered the taking of his victims’ lives, and the sooner he is extradited to the Hague so he can be accorded the just process he deserves, the better. The ICC is an extremely important instrument for the dispensation of justice, which is why so many governments that seek respect for their people’s rights have signed the Rome Treaty, and why powers that have engaged in widespread violations of these rights, like the United States government, have refused to sign it. The Philippine government must immediately take steps to rejoin the International Criminal Court.