The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has expressed willingness to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its probe into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.
CHR Chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc told GMA News Online that collaboration with the ICC falls within the commission’s mandate, but stressed that it will still depend on the kind of request made. “Kasama sa mandate namin actually yun eh, pero it depends actually on the nature of the request and the cooperation being requested. Basta, in accordance with our mandate, pwede,” he said.
Duterte was arrested in the Philippines last March 11 on charges of crimes against humanity linked to thousands of killings under his anti-drug campaign. He is now detained at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague.
Official records showed more than 6,000 deaths during police operations in the campaign, though human rights groups claim the number may have reached 30,000 due to unreported incidents.
The CHR is conducting its own review of the previous administration’s drug war to identify accountability. Palpal-latoc said they aim to release an initial report covering 400 cases by November, though the timeline could shift depending on evidence gathering.
He noted that police officers have been invoking a Duterte-era policy that restricts access to drug war data. Still, some officials have started opening up. “Yun pa rin ginagamit na excuse ng iba pero, surprisingly, may nag-open up pero di pa lahat,” he said.
Palpal-latoc also revealed ongoing talks with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to formalize a memorandum of agreement that would allow data sharing, cooperation, and joint trainings between the two agencies.
While the pact is not solely focused on drug war cases, he said it would eventually help strengthen investigations into related killings. However, the signing has been delayed by leadership changes within the PNP. “Actually dapat mapipirmahan na siya pero biglang nagkaroon ng changes sa leadership ng PNP. Of course we understand magkaroon ng change in direction sa priorities ng leadership. At least we’ll continue working with the PNP,” he explained.
