Hindi tungkol sa bilang ng mga pinatay sa drug war o extrajudicial killings ang kasong crimes against humanity na kinakaharap ni dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte kundi tungkol sa isang leader ng bansa “openly ordering killings, police acting with impunity, and a justice system that failed victims.”
Ito ang paliwanag ni Atty. Neri Colmenares, beteranong human rights lawyer at dating kinatawan ng Bayan Muna Party-list, kay Vice President Sara Duterte matapos hamunin ng huli ang International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors na pangalanan ang lahat ng 30,000 na sinasabing nasawi sa drug war ng Duterte administration.
“If she (VP Sara Duterte) plans to lawyer for President Duterte she should know that the Rome Statute does not require a specific number to prove crimes against humanity… The issue isn’t just about the exact number of dead—it’s about a president openly ordering killings, police acting with impunity, and a justice system that failed victims,” paliwanag ni Colmenares.
Ganito rin ang naging paliwanag ni ICC Assistant to Counsel Atty. Kristina Conti sa kapwa abogadong si VP Sara: “Sana lang, kay Vice President Sara, tutal may oras naman po kayo, pag-aralan n’yo po nang mas malalim ‘yung po ikinakaso dun sa tatay n’yo.”
Mensahe pa ni Conti sa Bise Presidente: “Clarification: The 181 pieces of evidence talk about preliminary matters. For example, what language will the testimonies be in? Do you have documents? How many pages are these documents? Hindi pa ito ‘yung mismong ebidensiya. And there will be more.”
Una nang nilinaw ni ICC Spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah na ang 43 counts of murder ay “sample” lamang ng mga kasong kakaharapin ng dating pangulo at ginamit lang na balidong basehan sa arrest warrant na inilabas ng ICC.