The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP Canada) welcomes the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte as a long-overdue step toward justice and accountability for the thousands of victims of human rights violations and crimes against humanity under his regime. This arrest is a result of relentless efforts by the Filipino people and the international community in exposing and resisting Duterte’s reign of terror.
Duterte must be held accountable for the thousands of extrajudicial killings committed during his so-called War on Drugs, which claimed upwards of 30,000 lives and disproportionately targeted the poor and marginalized. He must also answer for the brutal killings of activists, human rights defenders, and revolutionaries who were rendered hors de combat. His counterinsurgency campaign was a war against the Filipino people, rife with egregious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
With Duterte’s arrest, ICHRP Canada urges President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure that he is swiftly turned over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for detention and trial. The Marcos Jr. administration must cooperate fully with the ICC’s investigation by providing all available evidence held by the Philippine government to support Duterte’s prosecution. Any attempt to obstruct justice or provide Duterte with impunity would only deepen the culture of state violence and unaccountability in the Philippines.
The arrest of Duterte marks an important milestone in the struggle for justice, but the fight against impunity continues. The Marcos Jr. administration and the international community must hold other perpetrators of the drug war accountable. Among them are Philippine senators Christopher “Bong” Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, chief architects and defenders of the drug war, who are seeking for senatorial re-election while human rights violations continue under the Duterte-era Anti-Terror Act, upheld by the Marcos Jr. administration.
ICHRP Canada stands in unwavering solidarity with the victims and their families in their quest for justice. We continue to call for accountability, an end to state-sponsored violence, and the full respect of human rights and democratic freedoms in the Philippines. ###