290 ‘war on drugs’ deaths under probe

With all of these actions being taken by the government, Clavano asked the ICC to give the Philippines time to address the issue concerning the drug war killings

The Department of Justice on Monday disclosed that there are at least 290 deaths due to previous administration’s war on drugs which are under various stages of investigation and prosecution.

DoJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV stressed that while the 290 cases are already being processed, they will not stop from there.

He added that they picked up a lot of information from civil society groups and there are many who go to the DoJ to tell their stories.

“This thing was deemed as good development because, before, they were afraid to go to authorities which means people are open to authorities and shows how trustworthy the current administration,” said Clavano.

The efforts of the government to probe and prosecute killings during illegal drugs operations were pointed out by Clavano after the International Criminal Court announced last 26 January that its Pre-Trial Chamber I allowed the ICC Office of the Prosecutor to resume investigation of the drug war killings in the Philippines that have taken place from 1 November 2011 up to 16 March 2019.

“The Chamber concluded that the various domestic initiatives and proceedings, assessed collectively, do not amount to tangible, concrete and progressive investigative steps in a way that would sufficiently mirror the Court’s investigation,” Clavano said.

With all of these actions being taken by the government, Clavano asked the ICC to give the Philippines time to address the issue concerning the drug war killings.

He stressed that the government is not turning away from the mandate and responsibility to investigate and prosecute those involved in the drugs war.

To recall, the Philippines has been a state party since 1 November 2011 of the Rome Statute that created the ICC but on 17 March 2018, the government deposited, upon the instruction of then President Rodrigo Duterte, a written notification to the ICC that declared the country’s withdrawal from the Statute and it took effect on 17 March 2019.

With the withdrawal, Clavano said the ICC can’t compel the Philippines to submit itself to an investigation.