MANILA, Philippines – Sinabi ng tagapagsalita ng International Criminal Court nitong Martes, Abril 1, na ang 43 umano’y kaso ng extrajudicial killings sa bansa na may kaugnayan sa war on drugs ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ay sample pa lamang at marami pang maaaring ipresenta sa korte.
Sa panayam ng ABSCBN News, nilinaw ni ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah na maaaring ipakilala ang mas marami pang kaso habang nagpapatuloy ang proseso.
“This doesn’t mean that these are the only incidents that may be included in the charge. These were a sample of incidents that are related, that were, for the purpose of issuing an arrest warrant, sufficient from the point of view of the judges, to sustain the charge of murder as crime against humanity, for the purpose of an arrest warrant, which is the first step in the judicial process,” paliwanag ni El Abdallah.
“Next step, which is the confirmation of charges hearing scheduled in September, would look deeper, and after hearing also the defense, to decide whether this case should go to a trial or not,” dagdag pa niya.
Nangangahulugan ito na maaaring humiling ang prosekusyon ng mas marami pang kaso at witness.
“Yes, the prosecutor may submit to the judges additional requests, and eventually it would be for the judges to decide whether they can be admitted or not,” aniya.
Sa March 12 situation report sa “Philippines and Duterte,” sinabi ng ICC na ang Pre-Trial Chamber I “assessed the material submitted by the Prosecution and found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Duterte is individually responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder, allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.”
Dagdag pa, ang ICC Pre-Trial Chamber “focused on a sample of alleged incidents to facilitate its analysis” at ang paglalabas ng arrest warrant laban kay Duterte.
Ayon kay El Abdallah, patas ang mga hurado sa ICC at hindi maaapektuhan ng anumang political issues na may kaugnayan sa kaso ng dating Pangulo.
“It is important to highlight that the judges would only decide based on the legal, applicable rules, and based on the evidence submitted before them. So anything that is outside of this framework and outside of what is presented to them by the parties, and the participants to the proceedings, are, by definition, issues that cannot be taken into consideration by the judges and would not have an impact on their decision in relation to the charges,” paliwanag ni El Abdallah.
“It’s important to highlight that the judges are impartial. They have all the guarantees that are necessary to ensure that they would be only applying the law and will not be under any kind of influence,” dagdag nito.
Matatandaan na kamakailan ay pinuna ng mga tagasuporta nito ang umano’y 43 kaso lamang na hindi sapat para tawagin itong crimes against humanity. RNT/JGC
