Once again, the Philippine Opposition led by the Liberal Party (a.k.a. the Yellowtards) can only stand back and watch as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte leads his country down a different path. That they are left scratching their heads wondering What’s next? proves they never had a strategy to deal with this situation to begin with. They had no plan around what to do even in this most obvious of scenarios currently playing out.
The worst thing the Yellowtards did, in fact, was come knocking at the door of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to begin with. What they did, in effect, was invite a foreign court to infringe upon the authority of the Philippines’ judicial branch over a domestic affair. Perhaps driven by blind hatred or simple plain stupidity, the Yellowtards failed to realise that they were up against the Supreme Court itself which is constitutionally-mandated to be the final interpreter of Philippine Law. It is unlikely that officers of the Philippine judiciary would take the prospect of a foreign “court” meddling in Philippine affairs sitting down.
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The fact that a state even has the option to “withdraw” from a court’s jurisdiction is proof that the ICC is not a real “court”. Imagine a Filipino “withdrawing” from the authority of the Philippine’s Supreme Court (or any Philippine court for that matter). Ridiculous, right? That’s because Philippine courts are real courts. The ICC is one that merely pretends to be one. This further highlights just how stupid members of the Opposition who went on junkets to The Hague supposedly to do business with the ICC are. If a Filipino tried to exempt herself from the authority of a Philippine court, she would soon be getting a call from the police and, perhaps, marched out of her home in handcuffs. Does the ICC have the capability or the authority to do the equivalent of this? Would they be able to send an armed force to take custody of a Philippine national from within Philippine territory?
Foreign lackeys of the Opposition, however, remain adamant (or hooked on the Kool-Aid routinely served to them). Nicholas Bequelin, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific, for one, reportedly issued this rather hollow veiled threat…
The Philippines’ withdrawal won’t change the fact that those responsible for crimes under international law committed during the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drugs campaign will be held to account – at the ICC or through other international justice initiatives.
Even more astounding, Bequelin presumes to speak for Filipinos going further to assert that “Filipinos bravely challenging the ‘war on drugs’ or seeking justice for their loved ones need international support to help them end this climate of fear, violence and impunity.” Perhaps Bequelin should be reminded that the will of Filipinos only legally manifests itself through the institutional democratic processes that currently function in the Philippines — through its elections, the representatives in its legislature who are elected by popular vote, and through their Chief Executive who was elected to office in 2016 and continues to enjoy the confidence of the vast majority of Filipinos.
Indeed, this ICC stunt being mounted by the Opposition illustrates just how inconsistent and hypocritical the Philippine Opposition are. On one hand, they would participate in a national election and go through all the motions to campaign for the right to sit in Congress. Yet, on another, they would baldly usurp the authority of the very institutions that govern this political exercise. This just demonstrates the lengths to which leaders of the Opposition would go to seize power and influence — to the extent of undermining the very democratic institutions — and the very sovereignty of their own country — they pretend to “defend”.
The fact is, the Yellowtard-led Opposition offer nothing to the Filipino people beyond the trite abstract notions of “human rights”, “equality”, and “freedom” that had degenerated to mere trendy platitudes under their watch. These otherwise noble concepts had been politicised beyond all recognition after 30 years of the liberal Yellow narrative of prayerful “martyrs”, “heroes”, and “peaceful” street “revolutions” being shoved down Filipinos’ throats using the awesome corporate power of ABS-CBN, the Inquirer Group, and other mass media outlets that owe favours to the Philippines’ traditional powers-that-be.
Filipinos should, instead, laud their country’s withdrawal from a “criminal court” operating on the other side of the planet as another step towards real independence — something that the Yellowtards are evidently fearful of. Indeed, it is high time Filipinos start asking the right questions, like why, indeed, are the Yellowtards afraid of a truly independent Philippine nation. Until these right questions are asked and real answers demanded of Yellowtard politicians, this mystery will continue to persist and real independence will continue to elude Filipinos.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Freedom cannot be bestowed — it must be achieved. And freedom is nothing but a chance to be better.
Benigno
Visit the International Center for Transitional Justice site at:
https://www.ictj.org/about
Read their free 108-page Handbook on Complementarity at:
https://www.ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ_Handbook_ICC_Complementarity_2016.pdf
Case against Philippine Pres. Duterte is inadmissible since Philippine Courts are still open.
Benign0: As Domingo Arong said, I don’t think you understand the purpose or nature of the ICC. It can intervene only when national courts cannot or will not investigate egregious crimes, as for example occurred in Rwanda.
In my opinion it is a weak compromise which would work far better if it had a wider mandate and the threat of UN force behind it. The fact is that the Philippines DOES NOT have a functioning legal system. Most third-world countries have legal failures at the root of many of their problems: the general atmosphere of impunity that persists here – and that you’ve written about yourself – is testament to that.
If the country had a well-organised police force, working together with an efficient judiciary, underpinned by sensible laws that everyone could understand, 90% of the country’s problems would disappear. If there were an international organisation of technocrats empowered to impose such a package upon failed states (eg., the Philippines) it would go a long way to making the world a nicer place.
The withdrawal of the Philippines from the ICC just demonstrates the extent of Filipino hubris and ignorance, not a desire (or ability) to stand proud and independently successful.
Marius,
I totally agree with you. And ICC does not need an army to – for instance – arrest Duterte or Robredo. Interpol will and can do that – if needed.
@marius Yes, I am aware of the ICC mandate which is that it can only act when it can be proven that a state has no working judicial system that could act on allegations of state abuse.
That said, proving a judicial system is a failure is a hard. On top of that, having a “court” with no teeth investigating allegations that are hard to prove makes the ICC something of a setup-to-fail organisation. It is therefore likely that the ICC is just some kind of sad cork bobbing upon the waves created by the real global powers-that-be. If so, then it really is worthwhile for the Philippines to just ditch that whole scene altogether. Not worth its while.
Whatever the motivations for doing that whether it is hubris or real pride/conviction does not matter ultimately. Whatever works. The outcome is what matters — getting the Philippines to stand on its own atrophied feet.
@benign0: the bar is set pretty high for intervention, partly because no State would agree to anything less. The reality is that the court has very little power to intervene in countries like the Philippines, where there is at least a pretense of justice.
In that sense I agree with you that the ICC is somewhat pointless, or possibly doomed from the start. But what would be the alternative? Logically, it would have to be something that (a) actually works and (b) has enough force behind it to back up its judgments.
The “actually works” part is difficult. You are right to distrust the “international community” of worthies. My point was that, instead of ranting and throwing tantrums, Duterte might have had an opportunity to steer the ship (possibly not much of one – obviously, I have no idea what goes on in the corridors of power). By accepting carefully-targeted interventions, he might have strengthened the institution he condemns.
For example, the ICC should offer a comprehensive review service to pick out illogical, perverse, or badly-framed laws – that is, ones that are known to have negative effects. EVERY country could benefit from such a review. They might also have a police training service, or even a cadre of police-on-demand; one of the problems with the Philippines is an unprofessional police force burdened by pointless admin work – and again, this is a widespread problem that would benefit from constant monitoring and improvement at an international level.
@marius: The alternative is pretty straightforward — good old fashioned war.
In World War II, when America had had enough of Nazi Germany (or, more likely, started to feel a real threat from it), they decided to go to war (after years of leaving it up to the Brits, the last standing of the militarily-viable “good guys” to fend off the Blitz on their own). To keep its population appeased by the expected disruption, rationing, and loss of life, Uncle Sam pitched the war to them as a war to defeat “tyranny” which, by most measures, Nazi Germany was so they weren’t really lying about it as much as the Yellowtards do today.
They also nuked Japan to end the war before more of their boys were killed in conventional land invasions.
The short of it then is that America did not need no “International Criminal Court” to march their forces in to crush international bad guys. They could still do it when it suits their national interests. The fact that the only bad side in global politics that Duterte has actually gotten himself in is with the ICC says a lot of how much of a shit the other governments of the world really give about the whiny snowflake pleas of the Yellowtards.
If someone who controls a big enough invasion force really has an issue with Duterte, then Duterte is toast. But he’s still in power and is still cracking his popular jokes. So the reality that he is here to stay (by vitue of Philippine Law) is self-evident.
@Benign0: you seem to be arguing that someone should invade the Philippines and have done with it?
There’s an interesting reason why this happens less often these days: the “great powers” realised that the outcome is highly unpredictable, and (more often than not) doesn’t achieve the desired effect (the desired effect usually being making money out of a subjugated territory).
The only countries still indulging in this kind of thing are Russia and China, and they’re really just making a rod for their own backs by spreading resentment and fear.
So here’s the problem: it’s quite possible that China will decide to invade the Philippines, simply because it can. Although it’s occupied by 100 million worthless Filipinos, it has a lot of nice natural resources that can be pillaged. This country has no military strength and the US has little real interest in the place (they seem to realise that China is already de facto Head Honcho in Asia). If push came to shove, the Philippines would be thrown under the bus.
At this point in history, no country can stand alone. Duterte needs friends, but right now, he’s basically acting like that ugly, dim kid from the projects who nobody wants to play with. If you’re the schoolyard runt calling the big kids names, sooner or later the big kids will come to give you a kicking, just for the amusement value. That doesn’t mean Duterte needs to toe the line – I’m sure there are intrigues going on in the international community that we know nothing about – but he does need to realise that it’s not the 12th century, and he’s not the chief of a village anymore.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is nothing but a tool of the U.S./C.I.A. and other strong countries, to impose their will on the political leadership of a weak country. They used it on : Serbia, with Milosevich, arrested. They did it, on Monrovia, where Pres. Taylor, was arrested and tried in ICC.
They cannot do it on North Korea, where, Kim Jung Un, is killing his people; and imprisoning political dissenters. Kim Jung Un of North Korea, has Atomic Bombs, with capability to deliver the bombs to the ICC in the Hague, Neatherland.
The opposition (Aquino Cojuangco political axis) , lost in the Presidential election. However, they cheated, to put the “brainless and idiotic” Fake Vice President Lugaw Robredo, next to the echelon of power.
This was the reason, they went to the ICC, to try to remove Pres. Duterte, and make their puppet, fake VP Lugaw Robredo, as President. That, they will regain their power, and cover their thieveries, and other crimes, that can be tried by the ICC….
Anyaway, do the ICC, have the jurisdiction to try those people, who cheat in national elections ? The evidences of cheating in the 2016 national election is as bright as the noonday sun. And these people, tried very hard to obstruct the recount …ICC case is idiotic…the opposition is just trying to grab power in the Philippines !
“When due process fails” should be corrected into “When the electoral machine fails to go to our favor”, when you expressively go to the ICC and blanket your sob story statement about the courts failing and appeal to the international community to remove a President that you’re politically against and said courts are littered with individuals and organizations that politically align with yours, you’ll see that this just a sham court, even if the opposition gets their conviction, they’ll only win a PR victory because no one in the ICC has the power to remove a sitting head of state of a sovereign country. So seeing people rage that the ICC can invoke the neutral Interpol to arrest someone because of internal politics and because they don’t like said person, I’m not surprised when they’re willing to surrender sovereignty to gain power, same example during the Arroyo-years.
The ICC acts like “fact-checkers” and auto-correct. They’re bound to be ultimately useless.
So obvious how onion-skinned Duterte is. How paranoid he can be to those opposition people. He will react everything against those who dare to criticize him. You will only realize how guilty he is if he sees fitting to make time on how to take down his perceived enemies. Look at how he fight against Rappler, Trillanes, ABS-CBN, CBCP, and now ICC among others, you will see the patterned that he is acting like a spoiled brat kid either dodging the issues and revenge later or humiliate his enemies with his personal accusations to deflect the issues thrown against him by the former. He is so predictable already of his wild tantrums.
I once admired Duterte when he said in his first SONA he will not spend time on revenge but I was wrong. Looking at his 3 years in office, half of his time spent on going after his enemies using public funds and resources. Duterte’s supporters called Dutertards repeatedly criticized Noynoy Aquino during his presidency how awful he is because of his vengeful spirit nature, which is bad for the Filipino nation, but when their Duterte president is being criticized now, they will only compare you with “Aquino also did it, why can’t Duterte?” Dutertards are plainly idiotic at best not learning from past mistake experience but only want what makes their politicians happy and free even if they are visibly wrong and at the expense of national development, they will still bow down to their majesty Duterte. Dutertards suck! Their brains are numbly fucked up!
And it’s so obvious how onion-skinned Pinoy NPC is. So does explain his baseless rant since he’s also as paranoid as the Opposition whose purpose is just to oust an duly elected President, were whining now their plans have failed.
You have to admit: if someone here whose brains are numbly fucked up, it’s none other than Pinoy NPC. Go figure, soycuck.
Kek, the soy is strong on this one.
Don’t you know that the Opposition is even using the ICC as a weapon of destabilization against this government? Come on seriously, so much crimes with the past administrations and no one bother to consider the ICC. So why is that? Selective memory much?
towards this day and age
the world has yet to witness the ICC serving a warrant of arrest and criminal prosecution
directed against defendants GeorgeBush Jr., TonyBlair, ColinPowell,
DonaldRumsfeld and CondoleezaRice.
to answer for criminal charges arising from the 2003 War Of Aggression
illegally waged against the sovereign state and people of Iraq
without authorized consent from the United Nations Security Council.
earlier precipitated by an utterly brazen lie
which falsely accused Iraq of possessing Weapons Of Mass Destruction
resulting in an untold magnitude of carnage and devastation
totalling to 461,000 violent deaths.
these war casualties WERE NOT drug addicts
but innocent victims of MURDEROUS U.S. GOVERNMENT FOREIGN POLICY.
a PATHOLOGICAL AMERICAN HOMICIDAL STREAK
that all began upon the arrival and settlement of these squatter-rejects from Europe
in Jamestown, Virginia.
with Indigenous Tribes mudered and robbed of lands in return for giving them welcome and provisions
plus sharing knowledge in food cultivation and fisheries
in order to survive and adapt to their first winter hardship in the NewWorld.
ungrateful animals who desperately resorted to cannibalism when food stocks became scarce.
a grisly episode in early WhiteAmerican history now happily celebrated as Thanksgiving Day.
this bloodthirsty American savagery continued unabated throughout history
in places such as theHawaiianKingdom, the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam,
SouthAmerica, Yugoslavia, the MiddleEast
and now manifestly threatens the national security of both the RussianFederation and China.
contrary to its conspicuously myopic and highly-bigoted pronouncement
the ICC should otherwise indict the UnitedStatesGovernment
for unspeakable crimes perpetrated against humanity.
THE UNREMORSEFUL ATOMIC BOMBING OF JAPAN
BEARS ABSOLUTE WITNESS TO THIS GLARING AMERICAN INIQUITY.
The ICC is nothing but a “Koala Court”, which can’t even effect an arrest warrant.
Hardly anyone really gets punished, and if they do – it’s just a slap on the wrist (just several years imprisonment for genocide?). Not even the lowliest African countries take this court seriously.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_indicted_in_the_International_Criminal_Court
The Court has issued two arrest warrants for al-Bashir and he is currently a fugitive openly living in Sudan, where he serves as President. As such Sudanese state policy has been not to cooperate with the Court. Since the warrants have been issued, al-Bashir has traveled to several other countries and has not been arrested. Among the countries he traveled to include Chad, Djibouti,Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa which are states parties to the Rome Statute, and were therefore obligated to have arrested him.[84][85][86][87] On 26 March 2013, Pre-Trial Chamber II made a finding that Chad had failed to cooperate with the Court and therefore referred the non-compliance to the Security Council.