International Criminal Court would be stupid to go after Duterte over killings. Tulfo tells why

The International Criminal Court (ICC) would be going beyond its mandate should it decide to prosecute President Rodrigo Duterte for killing criminals in the Philippines, broadcaster Ramon Tulfo said.

In his Philippine Daily Inquirer column published Tuesday (Oct. 17), Tulfo said the ICC’s mandate is limited to prosecuting criminals suspected of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He slammed ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who hinted about possibly investigating Philippine officials over the alleged extrajudicial killings in the country, as “unfair” and “stupid” for expressing interest in how Duterte is conducting his war on drugs.

The broadcaster said Duterte cannot be held liable for genocide over the killings of criminals in the Philippines under his watch since they weren’t slaughtered on account of their race, religion, culture or political belief.

“Peddlers of illicit drugs are not being singled out because of race (they’re Filipinos like the rest of us), religion (they’re Christian or Muslim like the rest of us), culture (they have the same culture as the rest of us) and political belief (they’re apolitical and criminal),” he said.

The President could also not be held liable for war crimes since it is not at war against any country, Tulfo said.

In the same vein, Duterte could not be charged with committing any crime against humanity because “he is not a misanthrope or one who hates mankind,” the broadcaster noted. [source]