ILOILO City – The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)-Panay welcomed the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) formally authorizing a full investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings and other crimes against humanity committed during the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“For the families of the thousands of victims, this is a critical step towards justice – something that has been denied to them by their own government,” the group said in a statement.
This, according to them, also marked a “great leap forward” in a process that could see Duterte himself and other high-ranking officials held to account for their roles in the supposed atrocities.
“This is a prospect not even remotely possible under the current state of our country’s justice system, where agencies tasked to ensure accountability and transparency act merely as guardians of the powerful,” they added.
During the release of the ICC’s decision on Sept. 15, an unfortunate incident also transpired – the killing of Atty. Juan Macababbad, a veteran human rights lawyer and member of both NUPL and the prominent Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao.
He was shot and killed outside his house.
His loss is a staggering blow to the cause of human rights, the group said.
Macababbad helped investigate human rights violations, represented political prisoners, and served indigenous communities under frequent attack from the military and other state forces, it added.
“The fact that his murder occurred on the same day the ICC’s much-awaited decision came out highlights an often-overlooked fact in this fight for accountability: These victories come at a cost, and it is being paid in blood by people’s lawyers, activists, and volunteers,” they stressed.
They further noted that in Panay and Negros, dozens of human rights defenders in the past year were gunned down. They claimed the perpetrators are “cowards hiding behind masks and police uniforms.”
“No legal victory can fill the void or dull the pain left by losing Jory Porquia, Zara Alvarez, and many more who gave their lives in the battle to preserve human dignity,” the group lamented.
Moreover, NUPL-Panay underscored that while many chose to sit on the sidelines, understandably for fear of their lives, people like Neri Colmenares, Kristina Conti, and a host of NUPL lawyers and paralegals continued to risk their own just to “collect evidence and build cases” that could be brought before the international community.
“We should never forget that the progress in the ICC now being celebrated came only after years of painstaking work by these selfless individuals who stubbornly stood their ground against fearful odds,” they said.
According to them, these “small but costly victories” belong to the drug war victims and their families.
“One can only hope they find justice at the end of this long and difficult road. These victories also belong to Atty. Macababbad and the countless human rights defenders who had to make that ultimate sacrifice so the rest of the world might listen. And, of course, these victories belong as well to all those who, to this day, continue to hold fast and carry on the struggle amidst a torrent of violence and persecution,” they further said.
According to the group, there remains “much work” to be done in the ICC in order to have those “scoundrels in Malacañang and their goons holding public office across the country finally answer for their crimes.”
“Fortunately, we have human rights advocates who, despite the perils and hardships, are more than willing to take on this challenge,” they said./PN
