Former Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday said former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte could be held liable for crimes against humanity under a 15-year-old Philippine law in connection with the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) that occurred during his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
During the ninth hearing of the House Quad Committee investigating the alleged EJKs linked to the controversial anti-drug campaign, De Lima pointed to Republic Act (RA) 9851, a law enacted in 2009 that defines and punishes crimes against international humanitarian law, genocide, and other crimes against humanity.
She argued that RA 9851, enacted two years before the Philippines became a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), covers the systematic killings under Duterte’s drug war.
She added that the law holds not just the direct perpetrators responsible, but also those in leadership positions who order or induce such crimes.
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