Phl cooperation with ICC long overdue - group

Human rights advocates are urging the Marcos administration to fast track its "long overdue" plan to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

- 

The Philippine Coalition for the ICC (PCICC), a group pushing for the country's return to the international tribunal, stressed the need to immediately deliver justice to the victims of the previous administration's war against illegal drugs.

“The openness of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to talk with the ICC and look at possible areas of cooperation for justice is long overdue. This should be fast tracked towards complete Philippine cooperation with the ICC for the sake of the victims and their families,” PCICC co-chairperson Aurora Parong said in a statement.

“Justice must be delivered both in the Philippines and at the international level. We hope the possibility of US sanctions against the ICC will not affect the effort to deliver justice here and at the ICC,” she added.

Parong said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla’s recent statement that the Philippines is open to limited cooperation with the ICC is “not enough,” noting the persistent killings, decades-long injustice and impunity in the Philippines.

PCICC further urged the Philippine government to dismantle death squads to stop violent and deadly attacks on people and communities, replace the current punitive policy and law on drugs with a rights-based and a public health approach, eradicate the culture of impunity and build a culture of human rights among the police, government officials and the general public.