The Philippine Drug War: Extrajudicial Killings of Thousands
In the Philippines, tens of thousands of murders are committed by the national Philippine police and as a part of a government-backed anti-drug campaign under President Rodrigo Duterte (Human Rights First, Events of 2016). International human right organizations are critical of this campaign issued by President Duterte and his allies, and believe that this campaign may constitute as an ongoing crime against humanity, due to the number of deaths taking place and the torture that it perpetuates.
The Philippines had once been a country known for being one of the 51 original founding members of the United Nations, and thus, one of the leading Asian countries in human rights. It was one of the signatories of the 1942 UN Declaration of Human Rights, which the UN Charter was based on. Additionally, the Philippines is a signatory of the Rome Statute. Furthermore, the Philippines is a signatory of seven of the nine human rights treaties, not including the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ICRPD) and the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICED). Most notably, the Philippine has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Treaty (CAT) since 1986.
However, as of late, widespread human rights abuses that involve the Philippine Drug War under President Duterte have violated Article 5 of the UDHR and continue to do so, as the Philippines has continued violent acts of torture and cruel, inhumane treatment towards alleged drug dealers and suspected drug addicts. As a signatory to the UDHR, the Philippines must be held accountable for its gross violation of the UDHR and the more than 20,000 deaths that have been a subsequent result of this torture perpetuated by the government.
History of Philippines in Context of the Philippine Drug War
Since Rodrigo Duterte has become President of the Philippines in 2016, the Philippines has seen the intentional widespread killings of thousands of people who were branded as suspected drug dealers or takers. In the past two years, several events have transpired that have led to the deaths of several politicians, civilians, and children, all under the assumption that they had been involved in the illegal drug trade of narcotics. The international human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, estimates than over 12,000-20,000 Filipinos have lost their lives since Duterte's inauguration in June 2016. However, the Philippines government denies these statistics, estimating that only 3,900 deaths. President Duterte’s war on drugs perpetuates murders that are systematic and encouraged by the authorities, to the point where they are organized and pardoned by the President. Despite evidence that the Philippine government and the national police have considerable links to those who kill alleged drug pushers through extrajudicial executions, the Philippine authorities continued to deny unlawful deaths, by justifying the deaths of drug pushers for the advancement of the Philippines’ economic and social progress.
During his inauguration speech that took place on June 30th, 2016, newly-appointed President Duterte urged Philippine citizens to kill those that they suspected of being criminals and or affiliated with drugs, and encouraged civilians to kill all those who stood in the government’s path to a drug-free nation. President Duterte additionally offered to pay the Philippine National Police, as well, for each body of a drug-dealer or drug-addict that they brought back dead. By July 3rd, the Philippine National Police announced that they had killed 30 suspected drug dealers in the past 4 days, since President Duterte’s inauguration. Later, on July 7th, the Philippine National Police announce again that they had slaughtered approximately 103 suspects between the dates of May 10th and July 7th. On August 7th, Duterte declares great shame for his country, and reveals an extensive list of government-affiliated names affiliated with the dealing or receiving of drugs. However, there is no record that any of these names were ever verified, and the publication of these names only further made these people open for public political persecution and victim to violence or death.
On August 8th, the United States publically expresses its alarm over the death toll taking place. In August 18th, the US is not the only one starting to take international notice. UN Special Rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, calls on the Philippines to halt its violence. Callamard states that President Duterte has given his citizens great incentive to kill one another. President Duterte hit back by threatening to pull the Philippines from the United Nations.
On August 23rd, Chito Gascon from the Philippine Commission on Human Rights attempts to inform the Philippine Senate committee that international court systems, such as the International Criminal Court, have the jurisdiction to investigate the nation of the Philippines, due to this issue of mass killings amid the drug war taking place. In September 2016, during the ASEAN Summit, President Barack Obama cancels a meeting originally meant to discuss the Philippine Drug War, after President Duterte publically insults President Obama.
On September 30th, 2016, Duterte makes a shocking comparison between the Philippine Drug War and the Holocaust, while on an official visit to Vietnam. President Duterte asserts that he is willing to kill as many drug-dealers and drug-addicted civilians, as Hitler was willing to kill the Jews. These remarks received an immediate, international backlash. Also in September, Rappler, references the 2015 Nationwide Survey on the Nature and Extent of Drug Abuse in the Philippines, showing that there is an estimated 1.8 million current drug users in the Philippines (Gavilan, Jodesz. September 19, 2016. DDB: Philippines has 1.8 million current drug users).
On November 28th, 2016, President Duterte threatened human right advocates, asserting that he would not allow advocates to get in his way from executing those that are drug-dealers or drug-addicts, and that should they do so, they would lose their lives, as well. In reaction, human rights organizations, such as the National Alliance against Killings Philippines, felt that President Duterte had declared war on them (France-Presse, Agence. November 30, 2016. Duterte’s threats alarm human rights groups).
On December 5th, Reuters released a highly controversial report that determined that of all the already executed suspected drug-dealers or drug-addicts that had been shot by the National Philippine Police died, far more than any other country with drug-related violence. Reuters also stated that the police reports of killings were similar to “buy-bust” operations, in which the suspect would panic and shoot at the officer, the officers return fire and kill the suspect, then report finding a packet of white powder on their person. These figures pose a powerful challenge to the official narrative that the Philippine police are only killing drug suspects out of self-defense. These statistics by Reuters point that the National Philippine Police are pro-actively gunning down suspects. According to the Council of Foreign Relations, as of December 2016, the United States withheld poverty aid to the Philippines after declaring growing concern over this ongoing human rights issue.
This anti-drug campaign has slaughtered not only nationals of the Philippines, but nationals visiting the country as well. In January 2017, President Duterte suspended his national anti-drugs campaign for a single month after the Philippine police were accused of killing an elderly South Korean businessman named Jee Ick-joo. According to the NY Times, the South Korean national was 53 year-old and was taken from his Manila suburb home in October 2016, when he had been taken into custody under the fabrication of a drug raid, and strangled to death at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police in the previous year (2016). This information was disseminated by the Philippine Department of Justice, after finding that these officers later had been extorting ransom money from Jee Ick-joo’s family under the pretense that he was still alive. Human right organizations have recognized that this murder may have been perpetuated by President Rodrigo Duterte’s violent antidrug campaign, after the officers felt bold enough by President Duterte’s promise to pardon those who were involved in his campaign (Villamor, Felipe. January 19, 2017. Philippine Police are Accused of Killing South Korean Businessman). The government of the Philippines, as a ratifying state party, would be guilty to violating CAT for the kidnapping, violent torture, and murder of South Korean national Jee Ick-joo, who was held in detention under the pretense of being searched for drugs, and whose family was later ransomed for money long after his death by the Philippine National Police.
On January 31st, 2017, Amnesty International released a published report titled, “If you are poor you are killed”: Extrajudicial Executions in the Philippines’ “War on Drugs.” This publication amassed information regarding Amnesty International’s investigation of more than 50 government-backed executions in 20 Philippine cities and provinces. This report followed the details of how the Philippine National Police had been systematically targeting the impoverished and fabricating incident reports. In this report, Amnesty International finds that government officials are often the U.S. of $161 to $302 per execution of an alleged drug-dealer or drug-addict. Additionally, Amnesty International found that government officials also receive benefits from funeral homes that they send the bodies of alleged drug-dealers or drug-traffickers to. In February 4, 2017, President Duterte continued his attack on human rights organization, Amnesty International through public mockery. (Romero, Alexis. February 6, 2017. ‘Amnesty International naïve and stupid’). Duterte publically challenged Amnesty International to find out “the truth” about the drug menace and assailed the human rights organization for “coming up with an ‘unverified report.’
In March 2017, the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders resumed. The anti-drug war has claimed many young lives as well. The Philippine National Police continued to use the public list of civilians suspected of being a drug-dealer or drug-addict. In August 2017, the public slaughter of three teenagers sparked national turmoil. According to the NY Times, the Philippine Justice Department filed murder charges against three Philippine police officers responsible for the death of 17 year old boy. This case strengthened the national opposition to President Duterte’s national anti-drug campaign. These three officers, Arnel Oares, Jeremias Pereda, and Jerwin Cruz were responsible for the death of Kian Loyd delos Santos, a 17 year old boy who had been erroneously identified by an informant as a drug pusher. Witnesses state that they had seen the body of Mr. delos Santoes being dragged away by the police officers and dumped by a nearby pigsty. However, the police officers state, with much contradictory statements, that the young man had pulled out a gun, setting off a shootout in which he had died. Available CCTV footage and statements collected from several different eye-witnesses refuted these police accounts claims, and continued to support the assertion that Mr. delos Santoes had been murdered. This death ignited public anger, and his funeral procession become a public street demonstration and protest in Manila. This death also led to the denouncement of president Duterte’s anti-drug campaign by the Catholic Church, which holds much influence over the widely Catholic country of the Philippines. As a result, Catholic Churches all over the Philippines rang their church bells for 40 days, every day at 8PM, after a prayer rally at the San Sebastian Cathedral on September 21st, 2017. Mr. delos Santos is not the only young victim to President Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. According to local media, a 19 year old was found shot to death and the body of a 14 year old boy turned up full of stab wounds (Jennings, Ralph. September 15, 2017. Death of Three Teens Spark Backlash Against Violent Philippine Drug War).
In September 2017, President Duterte and Philippine legislators reduced the annual budget of the national Commission on Human Rights from the U.S. equivalent of $17 million to the U.S. equivalent of $20. This move was initiated in the Philippine House of Representatives, and moves on to the Philippine Senate. This move is accompanied by an initiative to defund drug rehabilitation programs by a whopping 75%.
The Philippine Human Rights Commission has been targeted by President Duterte and legislators before, and continues to run into roadblocks regarding its attempts at investigating alleged government-backed murders; the commission has only pushed one of its cases to court. Commission chairman Jose Luis Martin Gascon states that defunding the Philippine Commission on Human Rights is a vindictive display by avid supporters of Duterte. According to Reuters, the administration’s plans to slash public funds for drug rehabilitation programs contradicts the public health-based approach to drug addiction that was originally advocated by Vice President Leni Robredo. This is thanks to President Duterte’s recent comments on methamphetamine users. In August, President Duterte questioned the efficacy of rehabilitation, and stated that those using methamphetamine for more than a year would be “no longer viable for rehabilitation” because their brains had shrunk.
In October 2017, President Duterte broadcasted that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency was to reinstate the anti-drugs campaign, rather than the Philippine National Police. However, in less than two months later, it was announced that the Philippine National Police would rejoin the spearheading anti-drug processes again, despite ongoing investigations regarding widespread human rights abuses and the killings of alleged drugs dealers and drug addicts. In fact, these investigations were widely discontinued, and no known police officers were known to have been held accountable for the lives they have taken. Relatives of victims continued to be fearful for their own lives, should they file complaints against police. October was also the month that President Duterte would openly mock the “bleeding hearts” of those who sympathized for those who were killed in his anti-drug campaign, to which he pointedly referred to the European Union, whom he accused of interfering with Philippine sovereign power. (Mogato, Manuel and Morales, Neil Jerome. October 12, 2017. Duterte hopes drug war shift will satisfy ‘bleeding hearts’).
No Freedom of Media
Human rights defenders and journalists, particularly those critical of the government, continue to face threats and terrorization. In August 2017, radio broadcaster Rudy Alicaway and journal columnist Leodoro Diaz were found shot dead in the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur and Sultan Kudarat respectively. Radio broadcaster Christopher Iban Lozada was was found shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Surigao del Sur in October 2017. On Monday, January 15th, 2018, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission released a shutdown order on online news outfitter, Rappler, which the president accused of being foreign owned. Rappler had earlier reported that "journalists who report critically on the Duterte administration [were] also subjected to harassment and threats online.”
As attacks against human rights defenders increased, President Deterge began to encourage police to attack and shoot human rights defenders who were “obstructing justice”. On February 23, 2017, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court in Metro Manila issued a warrant for the arrest of Senator Leila de Lima for three criminal charges under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, which penalizes those who sell and import illegal drugs. Senator Leila de Lima, former justice secretary and former chair of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights, was arrested by the Philippine National Police over drug charges filed against her by the Department of Justice. By December 2017, Senator de Lima remained in detention at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Manila, and faced between 12 years and life imprisonment, should she be convicted. It is maintained by Senator de Lima and supporting international human right organizations such as Amnesty International that these charges were politically motivated and that she is a victim of political persecution. Over the previous eight months, President Duterte and his allies had been increasing their attacks on Senator de Lima, due to how outspoken she was against the anti-drug campaign as a result of their 7000 drug-related killings.
Similar attacks against those within the Philippine Commission on Human Rights began to intensify, including intimidation, ridicule, and death threats that have been issued from President Duterte and pro-Duterte officials in the Philippines. President Duterte and his followers have accused the Philippine Commission on Human Rights of siding with the drug pushers, and have responded by allocating a total of $20 of government funds to the Commission. Human rights organizations continue to express concern at the reports of increased numbers of arbitrary arrests and detention, and extrajudicial killings and slaughter of political activists and individuals protesting against the national anti-drug campaign.
In April 2017, a secret detention cell was found in a police station in Manila. In this, several detainees were found hidden behind a wall in a room no bigger than a shoe closet, begging for water and to not be abandoned. These detains said that they had been held for a week after being arrested on allegations of drug use, and not being able to pay the hefty demands in payment for their freedom. The Philippines Commission on Human Rights referred the discovery, along with allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, to the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation. The government of the Philippines, as a ratifying state party, would be guilty to violating CAT for the inhumane detention of several civilians under the pretense of possession of illegal drugs, for being unable to pay their way to freedom, and for opposing political views.
Background: President Rodrigo Duterte
President Rodrigo Duterte is a Filipino politician who is the 16th and current President of the Philippines. He began his work in the political field as a lawyer and prosecutor for the Philippine city of Davao, on the island of Mindanao. He soon became vice mayor, and then mayor of the Davao, where he became one of the most long-serving mayors in the Philippine islands, serving a total of seven terms and accumulating more than 22 years in office. His political success is believed to have been aided by his highly vocal support for using violence to combat against drug users and other criminals in the Philippines. According to Philippine politics expert John Gershman, President Duterte views drug dealing, drug taking, and subsequent addiction, as a major obstacles to the Philippines’ economic and social progress, and many Filipinos agree with him. Victims under this campaign have claimed the lives of drug-dealers, drug-addicts, petty thieves, and impoverished youth. This is not the first time that President Duterte has used violence in his political campaigns before, in 2009, a report by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights supported the claim that the Davao Death Squad, exists and has perpetuated systematic slaughter across the Philippines. President Duterte has given contradictory responses to this report, having already confirmed and denied his involvement in, in the past. In January 2016, the Office of the Ombudsman closed this investigation, stating that they had no evidence that the Davao Death Squad exists, nor that it had an evidence connecting it the Philippine National Police or President Duterte. Since this date, Duterte has repeatedly confirmed that he has personally taken the lives of three suspected kidnappers while he was still serving as Mayor of Davao (BBC News. December 16, 2016. Philippines: Duterte confirms he personally killed three men).
Duterte was widely elected for by a landslide in 2016 largely due to his public pledge to kill thousands of criminals and to focus on the narcotics issues in the Philippines. In fact, during a campaign speech to business leaders in April 27, 2016, Duterte stated that his presidency would, indeed, be a “bloody one.” Additionally, he continued to state that he would issue countless pardons to police and soldiers accused of murder, in order to strengthen his campaign against drugs. Additionally, Duterte promised to issue a presidential pardon to himself in the future at the end of his six-year term, for mass murders he has already committed and inevitably will continue to commit (ABC News. April 27, 2016. Philippine presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte vows to pardon himself for murder).
President Duterte Remains Obstinate Against Human Right Changes
President Duterte has shown much disdain for international human rights and has ordered the Philippine National police to not cooperate with any United Nations human rights investigators. He has refused to let the United Nations investigators “interfere” with “the way [he] would run [his] country.” Duterte has been long aware of the international criticism his national anti-drug campaign has hosted. According to CNN news, President Duterte gave a speech March 1st, warning soldiers and police officers that their statements could be twisted and misconstrued for nefarious purposes. Duterte cautioned his followers that “once those human rights investigators or rapporteurs come, [his] order to [them] is: do not answer. Do not bother.”
Duterte has also warned the United Nations not to “weaponise” human rights against him and urged the United Nations to send an impartial investigator for the assessment of the current anti-drug campaign. The Philippines’ human rights record had been mentioned at the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, when the Iceland Foreign Minister Gudlaugar Thor Thordarson urged the city of Manila to accept a visit from the UN Special Rapporteur.
President Duterte continues to assert that Philippine Drug War is a domestic interest of the Philippines and argues that any type of intervention from outside groups or organizations would qualify as a violating act against the Philippines' sovereignty. Presidential spokesman for President Duterte, Harry Roque told reporters that he'd recommend Duterte allow a special rapporteur to enter the country, but he said under no circumstances would it be the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Additionally, President Duterte has used his power to target those who speak against his policies. As of March 2018, United Nations special rapporteur, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, was recently placed on the list of more than 600 people that the Philippine government has declared as terrorists. Because of these allegations, Tauli-Corpuz fears for her safety and her life. Tauli-Corpuz reported to the Reuter Foundation that “the charges were entirely baseless,” and two other UN special rapporteurs have stated that they suspect that Ms. Tauli Corpuz had been placed on the list as a punishment from President Duterte for her speaking out against his policies. In December 2017, Tauli-Corpuz had stated that thousands of indigenous people had been forcibly displaced from Mindanao, and begged Philippine authorities to end abuses against them that had escalated under military operations. Local and international organizations such as Human Rights Watch has called the list a “virtual government hit list” (Chandran, Rina. March 10, 2018. Worried for safety, says U.N. special rapporteur on Philippine ‘hit list’).
Current State
According to the 2018 report published by Human Rights Watch, “Philippines: Duterte’s ‘Drug War’ Claims 12,000+ Lives,” more than 12,000 suspected drug-dealers and drug-addicts have died since the beginning of the Philippine Drug War. However, according to Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes in February 2018, Duterte’s administration reports that 3,967 drug dealers had been killed while another 16,355 homicides remain under a non-existent investigation process. This same report states that an additional 118,287 drug personalities have been arrested, and another 1,308,078 had surrendered to the authorities. Based on this report, Senator Trillanes states that at least 20,322 civilians have lost their lives to the drug war. Senator Trillanes asserted that the Philippines continues to be distracted by the shocking things that Duterte says, and have failed to pay attention to the more than 20,000 lives that had been lost to the anti-drug campaign. The Duterte administration does assert that all the numbers recording on the official document, Fighting Illegal Drugs: #RealNumbers are the numbers of those killed during legitimate Philippine National Police operations (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Customs. December 26, 2017. Police Report- Fighting Illegal Drugs: #RealNumbers).
However, according to Pulse Asia Research, President Duterte’s approval rating as of October 1st, remains at a high level of 86%. According to the Council of Foreign Relations, this shows that although some people are concerned about the deaths, the Philippine people still support President Duterte for his position on the issue and his relatively progressive economic agenda and therefore, the majority of the Philippine people are complicit to the deaths of more than 200,000 victims of the Philippine Drug War.
The Republic of Philippines, President Duterte, and the Philippine National Police, would be guilty of gross violation of the Convention Against Torture treaty. In addition, the Republic of the Philippines is guilty of violating the Rome Statute, for perpetuating widespread human rights abuses and crimes against humanity through the government operations and policies under President Duterte. The systematic killings of alleged drug dealers and addicts has been perpetuated, encouraged, and pardoned by the government, and therefore, does not break any current laws in place in the Philippines.
Plan of Action Policy Proposals
There are three possible plans of actions to deal with the swift and bloody effects of the Philippine Drug War. The first solution would be to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court, under the pretense that President Duterte and affiliated departments such as the Philippine National Police have perpetuated crimes against humanity, violating article 7 of the Rome Statute. In order for this solution to have the most effectiveness, we would want to launch a full scale investigation with intentions to file a complaint against the government of the Republic of the Philippines under the pretense of crimes against humanity that have been allegedly committed in the Philippines, since July 1st, 2016, in the context of the anti-drug campaign that had been launched by the current President Rodrigo Duterte of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been alleged that since the date of July 1st, 2016, tens of thousands of people have been killed for reasons related to their suspected involvement in illegal drug usage or dealings. Additionally, it is further alleged that many of the reported incidents involved extra-judicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations. Currently, as of early May and late April, Mr. Jude Sabio, an attorney from the Philippines, has filed a report with the International Criminal Court, which was accepted. However, the current international law prosecutor for this case, Mrs. Fatou Bensouda is only opening a preliminary examination, and not a full-scale investigation. In order for this filed complaint with the ICC, we would want a full-scale investigation, as President Duterte and the Philippine National Police have claimed more than 20,000 lives in the past two years. The Philippines is a signatory of the Rome Statute, and therefore, national jurisdictions have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute those that may be responsible for international crimes (International Criminal Court. Feburary 8, 2018. Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, on opening Preliminary Examinations into the situations in the Philippines and in Venezuela). According to an early May 2018 interview with attorney Jude Sabio, President Duterte has recently announced that the Philippines may withdraw from the International Criminal Court altogether, and has urged other nations to do the same. Attorney Sabio believes that this behavior is a clear indication of President Duterte’s guilt (Sullivan, Michael. May 3, 2018. Meet The Man Trying To Hold Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Accountable).
Under the Rome Statute, the Republic of the Philippines, President Duterte, and the Philippine National Police would be guilty of violating Article 5, Section 1, clause b: crimes against humanity. The Rome Statute defines crimes against humanity as acts that are “part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack…” (International Criminal Court. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court). This would include the following, which according to the Rome Statute, fall underneath the definition of crimes against humanity: murder, extermination, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, torture, enforced disappearances of persons, and other inhumane acts of similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. Therefore, the Republic of Philippines, President Duterte, and the Philippine National Police, would be guilty of violation of the Rome Statute, which it is a signatory and ratification of as of August 2011, and should be under full investigation of the International Criminal Court.
A second solution would be to file this human rights situation with the International Court of Justice under the pretense that the Republic of the Philippines its ratification of one of the nine core human rights treaties, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. According to the OCHCR, the Philippines ratified CAT in 1986, but have since had evidence of practicing torture during the recent reign of President Duterte. One of the most notable incidents of the Philippines’ anti-drug campaign’s violation against the CAT treaty would be from April 2017, when a secret detention cell was found in a police station in Manila behind a wall. In this, several detainees were found hidden behind a wall in a room no bigger than a shoe closet, and the prisoners were begging for water, food, and to not be abandoned. These detains said that they had been held for a week after being arrested on allegations of drug use and were held after not being able to pay the hefty demands in payment for their freedom. Additionally, there is also the incident of elderly South Korean businessman named Jee Ick-joo in 2016. Jee Ick-joo had died from injuries from torture while he was in custody of the Philippine National Police. Jee Ick-joo had been taken into custody under the pretense of a drug raid, and strangled to death at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police. These same police officers later had been found extorting ransom money from Jee Ick-joo’s family under the pretense that he was still alive. The government of the Philippines would be guilty to violating CAT for not only withholding Philippine nationals for allegedly taking or trading illegal drugs in a highly confined, hidden space without food or water for a week, but also for the violent torture and murder of South Korean national Jee Ick-joo, who was held in detention under the pretense of being searched for drugs, and whose family was later ransomed for money long after his death by the Philippine National Police. Therefore, the Republic of Philippines, President Duterte, and the Philippine National Police, would be guilty of violation of CAT, which it had ratified in 1986, and should be under full investigation of the International Court of Justice and the United Nations.
A third solution would be to approach transitionary justice through the creation of a criminal tribunal. Should the United Nations Security Council establish the International Criminal Tribunal for the Philippines, this international tribunal would have the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute persons responsible for crimes against humanity under the order of President Duterte, as of July 2016. This court will function both as an international and domestic justice actor, and will be needed due to the capacity of deaths, the approximate 1,000,000 that have been imprisoned on the account of taking illegal drugs, and the numerous actors and government officials that had ordered for this violence. This court will attempt to deliver justice that the current domestic justice system cannot provide due to the lack of capacity, defunding of the Philippine Commission for Human Rights, and lack of political will in the Philippines. This court will also serve to attempt to strengthen domestic capabilities to prosecute human rights abuses through the transfer of international legal expertise. Additionally, in the future after major actors who played a hand in the Philippine Drug War have been prosecuted or are in court proceedings with the ICTP, a fourth solution under transitionary justice, would be to seek reparations to make amends with victims who have lost family members to this widespread human rights abuses, and to establish a Philippine Truth and Reconciliation Commission in order to investigate past abuses, seek redress for victims and familiar, find patterns of suffering and drug usage, and find missing persons.
Conclusion
Since Rodrigo Duterte has become President of the Philippines in June 2016, the Philippines has seen the intentional widespread killings of thousands of people who were branded by the government as suspected drug dealers or takers. This list of “drug pushers” was never verified. As a result, many people, including children and foreign nationals, have fallen victim to the Philippine Drug War. This ongoing incident of human rights abuses may constitute as a crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute, of which the Philippines is a signatory state party, and may constitute as a gross nation-wide violation of the Convention Against Torture treaty, of which the Philippines is a ratifying state party. Not a single death taken by the Philippine Drug War violates Philippine National Law, as the government, including the Philippine National Police and President Duterte, has organized, encouraged, and pardoned the deaths of those involved with illegal drug taking or trading. In order to resolve these human rights abuses, it is highly imperative that President Duterte, the Philippine National Police, and other government officials of the Philippines, regardless of rank, take responsibility before the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice, in order to defend the civilians of the Republic of the Philippines.
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