Press Release
April 25, 2017

Statement of Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the filing of criminal complaint against President Duterte at the International Criminal Court

It did not come as a surprise that a criminal complaint has been lodged at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Duterte and 11 senior government officials for crimes against humanity, thus warranting an investigation, the issuance of arrest warrants, and the convening of a trial.

The complaint is solidly based on verified and verifiable documentary and testimonial evidence--more than journalistic anecdotes--on the complicity of the President and his officials in orchestrating, encouraging, and perpetuating the culture of impunity in the killing of suspected drug offenders and innocent civilians, including women and children. In fact, there are real witnesses who risked their own lives and their families to come forward and testify about the truth.

Far from what others claim, the complaint is not black propaganda or a political ploy to oust the President. Instead, it is a formal complaint lodged before the ICC because the Filipino people have already been alarmed, to say the least, about the continued daily killings in the Philippines. It is about making our elected officials accountable for the horrific crimes being committed before the eyes of the Filipino people and the world.

I call on the honourable judges of the ICC to heed the Filipino people's pleas. These killings must stop now, and those who allowed the perpetration of these crimes against humanity must be investigated and tried in the world's court for the sake of the thousands of victims of extrajudicial and summary killings, and their widows and orphaned children.

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