News Roundup 16 June 2021
Jun 16, 2021 • 4 min Read
Philippines’ COVID-19 death toll reaches 23,121 | PHILSTAR.COM – Coronavirus deaths in the Philippines crossed the 23,000th mark on Wednesday, a grim figure that came with 5,414 new infections. Today’s numbers pushed the country’s total count of cases to 1,332,832. The Department of Health said six laboratories did not submit testing results.
- Active cases: 56,170 or 4.2% of the total
- Recoveries: 7,637, bringing the number to 1,253,541
- Deaths: 158, or now 23,121 in total
ICC prosecutor wants to probe Philippines ‘crimes against humanity’ | PHILSTAR.COM – With “sufficient” and “reasonable” basis, outgoing International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has requested authorization to proceed with the investigation of President Duterte for crimes against humanity and killings in the Philippines in connection with his bloody war on drugs. As Bensouda’s nine-year term as a prosecutor ends this week, the authorized investigation in the Philippines will fall to her successor, British lawyer Karim Khan. The ICC judges have 120 days to decide whether to approve Bensouda’s request. Bensouda said the preliminary examination into the situation in the Philippines has concluded, prompting her to request judicial authorization to proceed with an investigation. “I have determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed on the territory of the Philippines between 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the government of the Philippines ‘war on drugs’ campaign,” Bensouda said. In her findings, Bensouda said “members of the Philippine National Police, and others acting in concert with them, have unlawfully killed between several thousand and tens of thousands of civilians during that time.” Bensouda also reviewed allegations of torture and other inhumane acts, and related events as early as Nov. 1, 2011, the beginning of the Court’s jurisdiction in the Philippines. Because of the ICC’s initial probe, the Philippines withdrew from the body on March 17, 2019. Yet Bensouda maintained that the Court retains jurisdiction over crimes, as the allegations took place while the Philippines was still a member.
PH officials ordered drug war killings – ICC prosecutor | INQUIRER.NET – The road toward an actual trial is still far ahead, but outgoing International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s request for a full investigation of the brutal conduct of President Duterte’s war on drugs holds clues as to who might possibly be charged with crimes against humanity: Duterte himself and former Philippine National Police chiefs Ronald dela Rosa and Oscar Albayalde. In a scathing 57-page report released on Monday, her last day as ICC prosecutor, Bensouda said she had “reasonable basis to believe” that the crime against humanity of murder “was committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against a civilian population pursuant to or in furtherance of a state policy.” Specifically, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) cited the “plethora of public statements made by Mr. Duterte and other Philippine government officials encouraging, supporting and, in certain instances, urging the public to kill suspected drug users and dealers” as evidence of a state policy to attack civilians. Bensouda noted, among others, Duterte’s “distinctive rhetoric” claiming criminals were legitimate targets for killing, and his repeated “shoot-to-kill” orders even when he was mayor of Davao City in 1988-1998, 2001-2010, and 2013-2016. This pattern of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) observed in Davao during Duterte’s tenure mirrored that during the 2016-2019 war on drugs with him as president, prompting Bensouda to expand the scope of the probe to include Davao EJKs from Nov. 1, 2011, to 2016, or from when the Philippines first became a signatory to the Rome Statute. Bensouda estimated that the number of drug suspects killed during the period July 1, 2016, to March 16, 2019, ranged from 12,000 to 30,000—much higher than the official 7,000. Duterte himself is the main respondent of the case filed by the families of drug war victims at the ICC nearly three years ago.
PH needs youth to build a better normal—Robredo | Manila Bulletin – The youth will play a vital role in building a “better normal” after the coronavirus pandemic, Vice President Leni Robredo said as she welcomed their contribution in stepping toward a “fairer, kinder, and more inclusive” world. During the virtual ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) of the Angat Buhay Youth Upskills Program, the vice president welcomed a new breed of “young leaders” who will “find resources, skills, and the space they need to push for their advocacies in their own communities.” “If we are to solve our most pressing problems, we need more young Filipinos to be involved and given pathways to contribute to society and empowered. Through this program, we will be able to provide concrete pathways for the youth to contribute…to build the truly better normal in its aftermath,” Robredo said in her online message. Angat Buhay is the flagship anti-poverty program of the Office of the Vice President (OVP). Its subsidiary, the Angat Buhay Youth, aims to equip and mobilize young leaders in the world against poverty.
