MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) is prepared to follow leads on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) if provided with the “right evidence,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Wednesday.
During the DOJ’s budget deliberation in the Senate, Sen. Grace Poe about the agency’s stance on the investigation led by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is examining human rights violations during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Remulla stressed that the government cannot prevent the ICC from interviewing potential witnesses, as investigators can easily contact them through video call.
He noted, however, that the situation would be different if ICC investigators sought to enter the country to enforce an arrest warrant. In that case, they would need to go through the proper court system.
Poe, who chairs the Senate finance committee, then inquired whether the DOJ would still pursue such cases even if the courts reject the requests.
“We were telling the United Nations Human Rights Commission, if they give us the evidence, we will pursue it. Because the problem is, it is hard to get a witness that will testify against police or those who do these heinous crimes because people are scared. Now, if we are given the right evidence, and this can be followed up, we will chase it,” Remulla said in Filipino.
The DOJ chief has yet to respond to Philstar.com‘s request for clarification on whether he was also referring to the ICC when discussing the reception of evidence.
Challenge in prosecuting EJKs
Remulla previously mentioned that there were not enough witnesses willing to come forward about the killings.
“The EJKs that happened at that time, there are no police reports, no police blotters, no records, that is why it is so hard to go after them,” he said.
The justice chief said there have only been two convictions related to EJKs, admitting the lack of mass convictions due to a shortage of witnesses.
While the DOJ has maintained that the government will not cooperate with the ICC, it also does not seem eager to hinder the ICC’s efforts.
Several key figures in government have been named as persons of interest in the ICC case, including Vice President Sara Duterteand senators Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that 6,252 individuals were killed during the drug war under the Duterte administration. However, human rights groups believe that the actual number could be at least 27,000.
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