No violation to the issue of complementarity, PCICC tells Palace

PCICC responding to Malacañan Palace’s statement on the OTP request to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to resume probe in the Philippines, Atty. Ray Paolo J. Santiago, PCICC spokesperson said:

“The PCICC welcomes the ICC Prosecutor’s application to resume the investigation into the situation in the Philippines as a step towards justice for the thousands of victims of the War on Drugs. As determined by the Office of the Prosecutor, “(t)he investigation carried out by the GovPH (as defined by the national proceedings to which they refer) does not sufficiently mirror the investigation to be conducted by the Prosecution.”

The PCICC reasserts that there is no violation to the issue of complementarity of ICC’s investigation into the situation in the Philippines regarding the War on Drugs. The preliminary examination and the recent review have determined that the local investigations conducted by the national government do not sufficiently address the concerns of the Prosecutor.

Atty. Ray Paolo J. Santiago

“The PCICC reasserts that there is no violation to the issue of complementarity of ICC’s investigation into the situation in the Philippines regarding the War on Drugs. The preliminary examination and the recent review have determined that the local investigations conducted by the national government do not sufficiently address the concerns of the Prosecutor.”

“The resumption of the ICC’s investigation is just one step on the long road to justice for the thousands of victims of the War on Drugs. If the Philippine government wishes for the proceedings to cease then they must demonstrate that they truly will hold perpetrators of these crimes against humanity accountable.”