News Roundup 27 September 2022
Sep 27, 2022 • 6 min Read
ICC prosecutor says ‘drug war’ probe needed despite government arguments | PHILSTAR.COM – International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan continues to push for an on-ground investigation into the “war on drugs” of the Rodrigo Duterte administration. Manila is asking the court’s pre-trial chamber to reject the Office of the Prosecutor’s request to resume its investigation on the alleged extrajudicial killings on grounds such as the court’s supposed lack of jurisdiction and the gravity of the alleged crimes. However, in a 21-page response dated September 22, the ICC prosecutor maintained that “none of those arguments have merit.” “There is no provision in the Statute for a State to challenge the resumption of an investigation on jurisdictional or gravity grounds at this stage of proceedings,” Khan wrote, adding that the country’s gravity challenge is not backed by facts. The ICC prosecutor said the government’s submission did not refute any previous findings. He also said that the government has not submitted any information that would contradict allegations. The response comes just two weeks after the Philippines transmitted its observation on the alleged crimes against humanity through the Philippine Embassy at The Hague in Netherlands. Manila has consistently said that the government is capable of and is already conducting its own investigation into “drug war” deaths, but the ICC prosecutor said he remains unsatisfied with the country’s independent efforts to look into Duterte’s “war on drugs”. For one, Khan noted that the Department of Justice’s Inter-Agency Review Panel’s review “fall short of comprising such tangible, concrete, and progressive investigative steps.” The Philippine government has also failed to provide substantiated criminal proceedings that concern Davao cases from 2011 to 2016, he said. “The small number of investigations and prosecutions arguably substantiated by the Philippine government continue to be few in number, are directed at low-level and physical perpetrators, relate only to killings during official police operations, and fail to investigate patterns of conduct or any policy underlying the killings,” Khan said.
Stern SC warning: Inciting violence against judges is contempt of court | PHILSTAR.COM – The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a “stern” warning that it will consider attempts on social media and elsewhere to incite violence against judges a contempt of the court. According to a statement issued by the SC Public Information Office, the court en banc has discussed “possible actions” over statements “made by a certain Lorraine Badoy containing threats against Judge Marlo A. Magdoza-Malagar”. Lorraine Badoy-Partosa, a former Palace official, has posted online rants against Judge Magdoza-Malagar over a decision junking the government petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’ Army. Magdoza-Malagar said crimes alleged in the government petition were against the law but did not fall under terrorism as defined in the Human Security Act. Part of Badoy-Partosa’s screed on Facebook reads: “If I kill this judge and I do so out of my political belief that all allies of the CPP NPA NDF must be killed because there is no difference in my mind between a member of the CPP NPA NDF and their friends, then please be lenient with me.” She has also since insinuated that the judge’s husband, UP Cebu Chancellor Leo Malagar, has links to the CPP-NPA and used to be a communist cadre. The SC PIO said the court discussed Badoy-Partosa’s statements motu proprio, or on its own initiative, and issued a stern warning to “those who continue to incite violence through social media and other means which endanger the lives of judges and their families…that this shall likewise be considered a contempt of this court and will be dealt with accordingly.” The SC rarely issues statements but, in March 2021, said in response to attacks and threats against members of the legal profession that “to threaten our judges and our lawyers is no less than an assault to the judiciary.” It said then that such attacks “cannot go undenounced on the court’s watch.” Although the Integrated Bar of the Philippines has already condemned Badoy-Partosa’s statements, individual lawyers have also been gathering signatures for a separate condemnation of the remarks, which they said “constitute a direct attack against the judiciary and its officers that is intended to undermine public confidence in the justice system and to harass and intimidate those who choose independently to promote the rule of law.” The lawyers — 174 have so far signed the statement — said Badoy-Partosa “must be held accountable while those who dare follow her lead must be warned that there are consequences for violating the law.” In a separate statement, the Free Legal Assistance Group said that “Badoy’s threat is not protected speech — it is a felony.” It said that Badoy-Partosa’s rants against the Malagars violate their rights and “clearly indicate that she will continue to act with impunity unless she is held accountable.” FLAG also called on the court to issue a show-cause order for Badoy-Partosa to explain why she should not be cited in contempt of court.
Kabataan solon wants to defer Youth Commission budget if Cardema won’t resign | INQUIRER.NET – Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel has moved to defer the budget of the National Youth Commission (NYC) if its incumbent chairperson, Ronald Cardema, would not resign from his post. Manuel, during the House of Representatives’ plenary debates on the proposed Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) budget on Tuesday, called on Cardema to leave his office, or government officials appoint another NYC head because of alleged mismanagement and massive corruption within the agency. According to the lawmaker, there have been numerous issues hurled at NYC — from audit reports stating unnecessary expenses and too much snacks, lost prepaid cards, and other claims of resource wastage — but the NYC management has supposedly not addressed these problems. “Walang saysay ang deliberations para sa budget ng National Youth Commission hangga’t ganoon ang tipo ng pamumuno kaya Mr. Speaker. We call for the resignation of the NYC Chairperson Ronald Cardema, kung hindi po siya mag-reresign dahil kumakapit siya sa kanyang posisyon dapat palitan na siya,” Manuel claimed. (Deliberations for the budget of the National Youth Commission would be meaningless as long as this kind of leadership is present. We call for the resignation of the NYC Chairperson Ronald Cardema, if he does not resign because he clings to power, then he should be replaced.) “Iba na ang iaappoint ng DILG at hanggang siya po yung nandyan sa NYC [Another official should be appointed by DILG and as long as he is there in NYC] we move to defer the deliberations on the 2023 proposed budget of the National Youth Commission that rigs of corruption and is not reflective of youth leadership in this country,” he added.
