Evelyn Serrano of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court asked me to confirm my attendance in this year’s Assembly of State Parties of the ICC. I’ve attended many such assemblies in the past as a delegate of civil society, but never as a national of a state party. This year, the seat of the Philippines at the Assembly would no longer be empty as we are now a full pledged member of the Court. In fact, it promises to be a very hectic for the Philippine delegation with Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago standing for election to be a Judge of the Court. Unfortunately, I could not readily confirm my attendance to the ASP since UP only pays for our transportation expense if we will deliver papers at conferences. Since the Assembly of State Parties is not an academic conference, there’s no way that I could turn to the university to shoulder my travel expenses. I hope the International Criminal Bar, which only recently received a substantial grant from the European Union, can include me in its official delegation.
Quite apart from Senator Santiago’s election, the task ahead for the Philippines as the Court’s most recent member appears to be gargantuan. While we have only recently enacted our own International Humanitarian Law which gives our courts primary jurisdiction over crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC—to wit, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide—we still have to promulgate a law against aggression after the definition of the said crime as the crime of waging war was adopted by the Assembly of State Parties last year. Beyond this, the Philippines is also obligated to facilitate cooperation with the Court in areas involving the ICC Prosecutor’s ability to conduct his own investigations within the country, should he want to; the ability of the court itself to sit and hold sessions in the Philippines; and cooperation in matters involving apprehension of individuals and procurement of evidence. Already, we have identified at the Institute of International Legal Studies of the UP Law Center a host of measures that Congress, the Department of Justice, and the Supreme Court will have to adopt to fulfill our state obligation to cooperate with the ICC.
For instance, the current rules on the conduct of preliminary investigation would have to be amended to provide the manner by which the ICC Prosecutor and his staff could conduct their own investigations in the country. An agency, most likely the DOJ, would have to be identified and tasked to cooperate with the ICC in this regard. The Supreme Court, likewise—since the ICC would be exercising judicial power in the Philippines, a first and I have to say, a possibility that I thought would not materialize—would have to amend its Rules of Court to provide the basis and the manner of the ICC sitting in session in our territory. The last time an international tribunal exercised jurisdiction in our country was the war crimes tribunal that convicted General Yamashita after World War II. The Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation will also have to shape up if they are to satisfy their obligation to cooperate with the ICC on the apprehension of individuals and the procurement of evidence. One positive result of our accession to the Rome Statute is the fact that whether they like it or not, our investigative agencies would now be constrained to modernize their capacity to enable them to cooperate with the Court.
But the biggest challenge, really, is to change the mindset of our countrymen that the commission of the most serious crimes against the international community, such as extralegal killings, torture and enforced disappearances, should be the subject of investigation, prosecution and punishment. In a country where a gunman could be hired for as little as P5 thousand, sometimes even less, the challenge is how to make the legal system work to ensure that all those who will commit these crimes will be punished. Full stop.
Even President Benigno Aquino III and all subsequent presidents should take heed that under our IHL Law and the Rome Statute, sitting presidents no longer have immunity for the commission of international crimes, a fact that Presidents Al-Bashir of Sudan and Muammar Gaddhafi only know too well.
Already, at least five journalists have been murdered under the Aquino administration, including my personal friend, Doc Gerry Ortega of Palawan. If PNoy should fail to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of these widespread killings, he himself may be the subject of a criminal prosecution under the principle of superior responsibility.
Unfortunately, the Court can only exercise its jurisdiction prospectively from November 1 of this year. This means that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Jovito Palparan, and the other notorious warlords of the country could not be held responsible for their acts before the ICC for acts committed prior to November 1 of this year. Hopefully, the fact that we are now under a positive obligation to reform our legal system to enable us to discharge the duty to cooperate will improve our own capacity to punish those whom we cannot try before the ICC.
As I ponder on the future of the Philippines as the latest member of the ICC, I look back to the 11 long years that took the Philippine Coalition for the ICC to finally convince the Philippines to be a member of the Court with melancholy and pride. Surely, though, we cannot afford to sit long on our laurels as the path ahead remains long and winding. Be as it may, the message has been sent: no more impunity!
I want to bring the conversation back to the “Maguindanao Massacre”.
There were two disgraceful events in Philippine recent history 1 was the massacre itself and 2 was the complete lack of public revulsion or public dismay or public horror or public outcry by any but an infinitesimal few . ie. 99.9 % out of 120 million people were too pathetic to care less . Where were the educated the intellectuals the judiciary the churchmen the lawyers the politicians the community leaders; what sort of moral training permeates Philippine society what sort of people do the universities turn out when such an overwhelming majority simply accept such debauchery such abjectly disgraceful behavior such brutality such barbarism as an accepted normal situation without so much as a whimper. It is beyond human comprehension.
Bles you and thanks!