Bishop welcomes ICC probe into drug war killings
A Catholic bishop on Wednesday welcomed the international criminal court’s investigation into the Philippine government’s deadly “war on drugs”.
Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the administrator of the Manila archdiocese, said it’s a step to stop the ‘culture of impunity’ in the country.
“In a way, it’s a welcome development because if there are no crimes committed, then the investigation will show,” Pabillo said.
According to him, the Church has long been calling for transparency and accountability to the drug war, which claimed thousands of lives.
“What we want to prevent is the culture of impunity where they (officials) can do whatever they want but they are not being held accountable,” he said.
The ICC earlier called for a full investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown against illegal drugs.
ICC chief prosecutor also sought a probe into the killings in Davao City from 2011 to 2016.
Malacañang, however, said it will never cooperate with any probe by the ICC saying it has already turned into a political issue.
The bishop challenged the Duterte administration to face the allegations hurled against them.
“If they didn’t do anything wrong, why not allow themselves to be investigated? Why won’t they participate?” asked Pabillo. “That is just unfortunate.”
