ICC: SIGNS OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN PHILIPPINES

The International Criminal Court issued a preliminary report Tuesday in which it said there was evidence to show that crimes against humanity had been committed in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, whose bloody drug war has left thousands dead since 2016.

The report was issued by Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the ICC. It found there was “a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder, torture and the infliction of serious physical injury and mental harm” had taken place.

The court will decide in the coming months whether to open a full investigation. The Philippines officially withdrew from the ICC last year after multiple complaints were filed against Duterte.

According to the Philippine National Police, roughly 8,000 people accused of being involved in the illegal drug trade have been slain since Duterte launched his bloody war on drugs. Rights groups have reported higher numbers and said the violence has continued even as the country remains under a coronavirus lockdown announced in March.

The latest incident took place last month, when Vincent Adia, 27, was shot three times by unidentified vigilantes on the streets of a town outside of Manila. Bystanders and witnesses took Adia to a hospital, where a gunman walked in and shot him twice, killing him in front of a stunned and terrified hospital staff.

Duterte has denied any connection to the killings, attributing them to hit men belonging to rival gangs intent on eliminating each other. But his denials backfired in 2018 when three policemen were convicted of killing Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17-yearold boy who was mistakenly identified as a drug dealer.

Surveillance video showed police taking the teenager away before he was found dead moments later in what police said was a shootout. The killing ignited widespread public anger and forced Duterte to temporarily freeze the drug war.

While the ICC cannot force Duterte to appear before the court in The Hague, Cristina Palabay, head of the Filipino rights group Karapatan, said the report is significant in the fight for human rights in the Philippines.