Arnerdo Valera, a licensed New York and Philippine Lawyer by profession publicized his revelation about a political conspiracy through a Facebook post a few days ago, with regards to the International Criminal Court (ICC) seemingly orchestrated actions.
Valera declines interest in any political conspiracy but this particular instance led him to wonder why it seemed all too orchestrated. So the attorney did the only thing logical, he linked the all the consecutive events.
“…International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatous Bensoda’s announcement that ICC will be conducting a preliminary examination (first stage to a possible prosecution) on the Philippines’ War against Illegal Drugs, the scheduled talk on Press Freedom and the Drug War by Senator Antonio Trillanes on February 10 in California, the continual drum beating of the political opposition, as well as some international and national human rights groups with political and social agendas of their own…” Valera stated.
But there seems to be something that connects all these events, that one goal, to destabilize President Rodrigo Duterte whom has only been in office for two years. The attorney then stated the obvious,
“The grand design is simple: Make the human rights violations allegedly committed in this drug war stick and over time, erode the trust and confidence of the Filipino people in President Duterte and his administration.”
Locally speaking, nothing is out of the ordinary, but the intervention of the ICC raises doubts in Valera’s mind. He states that the moment a national leader campaigns against a national scourge, the ICC immediately conducts preliminary examinations, but larger drug wars in Latin America are left unattended.
Valera claims that with such exposed facts, we can say that the ICC is a ‘seriously flawed institution’.
He then recalls the statements during the Clinton and Bush administration where both administrations declared how flawed the institution is,
“…it lacks prudent safeguards against political manipulation, possessing sweeping authority without accountability to the Security Council and violates national sovereignty by claiming jurisdiction over the national and military personnel even of non- state parties…”
Even China opposes against the ICC under the presumption that,
“…it goes against the sovereignty of nation states, that the ‘Principle of Complementarity’ gives the Court the ability to judge a nation’s court system, that war crimes covers internal as well as international conflicts, that the Court’s jurisdiction covers peacetime crimes against humanity (unlike Genocide and War Crimes, Crimes vs. Humanity has not had a definition with genus and specific difference i.e. ; inclusion of the crime of aggression weakens the role of the UN Security Council, and that the Prosecutor’s right to initiate prosecutions may open the Court to political influence”
India on the other hand protested about the broadened definition that adopted of crimes against humanity.
Valera continues on to explain the misconceptions and misunderstandings pertaining the Philippine’s War against the Illegal Drug Trade. Where the concept of Extra-Judicial Killings have been abused by political propagandists and the opposition of Duterte’s administration both locally and in the U.S.
He counter’s such declarations of killings murders and homicides as Extra-Judicial Killings commited by the government, police and miilitary to be unfounded and baseless and a portrayal of ignorance of basic human law. To prove such contradiction he posted the following information.
From July 1, 2016 to November 27, 2017 there has been:
• 79,193 Anti-Drug operations
• More than 118,000 drug personalities arrested
• More than 1.3 million drug surrenderees
• More than 16,000 drug dependents going through DOH (Department of Health) drug rehabilitation programs
• 2,236 former drug dependents have completed their rehabilitation
• More than 14,000 drug surrenderees have received livelihood and skills training by TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority)
• 3,967 drug personalities have died during anti-drug operations
• More than 16,000 cases of homicide under investigation
• More than 4,700 barangays being declared drug free
• 426 PNP officers who’ve been relieved of duty due to involvement in illegal drugs
• Another 1,000 police personnel in Caloocan City police station to undergo retraining and reorientation
• 1,900 drug-related investigation against law enforcers
• 8.44% decrease in total crime volume
• 20.56% decrease in index crimes
• 23.61% decrease in robbery incidents
• 88% of the population approves of the drug war
• 78% of the population expresses appreciation to our brazen President and his efforts against crime, graft and corruption
Valera then elaborated that the Philippines is facing two drug wars, one where the government is against drug lords, cartels, narco politicians, police scalawags and low level drug offenders. And the second one being the war is the one against the aforementioned affiliations declaring war against each other.
The attorney also raises the fact that it is unfair to presume that all law enforcement are stone cold killers of drug related individuals. Basically give them the justice that they deserve in this volatile time of the country, they are doing their job and it isn’t shoot to kill, it is to defend the Filipino people against drug corrupted minds.
He then sends a message to the ICC that’s trying to “help the Philippines”,
“If you truly want to help the Philippines in nation-building, and if you want to prevent the Philippines from becoming a Narco State, then you must view the Philippine drug war without any political agenda. You can exercise your right to demand accountability and give your constructive criticisms to strengthen the law enforcement agencies but not to weaken them, simply because you do not like President Duterte. Otherwise, you are becoming alter-egos of the political opposition and unwittingly becoming an enabler for the drug cartels, drug lords, police scalawags, vigilantes and corrupt politicians involved in drug trafficking.”
Valera ended his article with two tips for the Philippines. The first tip is that through Article 127 of the Rome Statute,
“The Philippine government must consider unsigning and unratifying the Rome Statute which it signed and ratified on August 30, 2011. Article 127 of the Rome Statute allows States to withdraw from the ICC. The Philippine Government should now determine that it is not in its interest to continue being in the ICC.”
This is in order to keep our nation’s sovereignty from interference of the ICC with our strict law enforcement, considering the special circumstances that the country is in right now.
The second tip would be to enact,
“a law similar to ASPA (American Service Member’s Protection Act of 2002) to address risks and secure its political gains in building a stable and strong Philippines. The ASPA is not a declaration of war against the ICC but “it did the modern equivalent: “it authorized the President to use all means necessary, including military force, to free U.S. and allied military personnel and government officials detained by the ICC under the traditional conception of International law.”
The government should also protect those who protect our citizens, by taking steps to avoid such orchestrated acts of destabilization by foreign interferers. The last thing that this country needs is another entity that intervenes the very volatiles state of the nation. Valera reminds us that we should stay independent and that it is our sovereign right to stay independent.
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You said it all, sir. That’s how politics goes in our country because of greed...
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