MANILA (UCAN): Bishop Arturo Bastes, the retired bishop of Sorsogon, the Philippines, backed a report issued by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, which said that there was reason to believe the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, had committed crimes against humanity in killing drug suspects by allegedly using police officers without due process of law.
“There are human rights violations by the Duterte government. I approve of the ICC’s action against Duterte. I hope concrete sanctions will be slapped against him,” Bishop Bastes said.
“The Office (ICC) is satisfied that information available provides a reasonable basis to believe that the crimes against humanity of murder … torture … and the infliction of serious physical injury and mental harm as other inhumane acts … were committed on the territory of the Philippines between at least 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019 …,” Bensouda said in her report, which was released on December 14.
Bishop Bastes said the figures cited in the report were a valid representation of Duterte’s crimes.
When asked if the president had a hand in the killing of drug suspects, the bishop observed that the perpetrators would not roam around Manila’s streets without Duterte’s blessing.
“I really think he has a hand in all these killings. He had been murdering people even as mayor in Davao simply on the suspicion that they were drug addicts or pushers,” he said.
The bishop expressed hope that justice would be served to the poor victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.
According to government figures, just over 8,000 people have been killed since 2016 when the drug war began. However, estimates from rights groups, activists and Bishop Bastes himself put the number of dead up to three times higher.
“There have been more than 20,000 victims of extrajudicial killings since the Duterte administration launched its campaign against illegal drugs. The number is even higher than Covid-related deaths in the Philippines and it continues to rise,” the bishop said.
