Shoot me, don’t jail me, Duterte tells ICC prosecutor
MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday told the International Criminal Court (ICC) to go ahead and investigate him for crimes against humanity, and said he would prefer to face a firing squad than be jailed.
However, the firebrand leader notorious for his defiance of international pressure questioned whether the ICC had jurisdiction to indict him over the deaths of thousands of Filipinos in his war on drugs.
He denied ever giving an order to police to kill drug suspects.
ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said on Thursday the preliminary examination into Duterte’s campaign sought to establish whether it had the jurisdiction, and if crimes against humanity had been committed.
“I would ask for the rare privilege of talking to you. Just the two of us in the room,” Duterte said during a news conference, referring to Bensouda.
“I welcome you. If you want to find me guilty, go ahead. So be it. Find a country where they kill people with a firing squad and I’m ready.
“If you haul me into a rigmarole of trial and trial, no need. Go ahead and proceed in your investigation. Find me guilty, of course. You can do that.”
About 4,000 mostly urban poor Filipinos have been killed by police in Duterte’s signature campaign that has alarmed the international community.
Activists believe the death toll is far higher and accuse police of systematic cover-ups and executions.
Police and the government dismiss that.
The examination is the first formal step the ICC prosecutor takes when considering whether a situation in a member state could eventually lead to charges. The process may take years. Central to whether it proceeds is if the court has jurisdiction, since it can only prosecute crimes when a member state fails to do so.
Duterte’s legal counsel and his attorney general on Friday said several cases related to the anti-drugs crackdown were pending in courts and a Senate investigation had found no evidence of wrongdoing.
The ICC complaints came from a lawyer and two lawmakers and include the accounts of two self-confessed hit men who say they killed at Duterte’s behest when he was a city mayor, and public statements he made as president that they say amounted to ‘shoot-tokill’ orders.
Duterte said it was doubtful the ICC had jurisdiction in the Philippines because its accession to the ICC’s Rome Statute in 2011 had never been announced in the country’s official gazette, as required to be considered lawful.
He also vented his anger at allegations of extrajudicial killings during his campaign, saying the term could not be defined.
“What is extrajudicial killing?” he said. “There is no provision for extrajudicial killing, it is not defined anywhere.”
Duterte also said he has ordered the military to cancel a $233 million agreement to purchase 16 helicopters from Canada, whose government expressed concerns they could be used to fight rebels.
“I want to tell the armed forces to cut the deal, don’t proceed anymore and somehow we will look for another supplier. We respect Canada,” Duterte said briefing.
Duterte also directed the military not to buy arms anymore “from Canada or from the United States because there is always a condition attached.”
The Philippines and Canada formally signed the helicopter deal on Tuesday.
The following day, the Canadian government ordered a review, in response to comments by Philippine Major-General Restituto Padilla that the helicopters would be used for operations against rebels.
Canadian officials said they were concerned about possible human rights violations and said they had understood the helicopters were intended for noncombat operations.
The Philippine defence minister later clarified that the Bell 412EPI helicopters were mainly for transport, rescue and disaster response. Duterte, however, said they were to go after Maoist rebels. the in a stand of televised