The recent decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) ironically provides a compelling reason on why we should not entirely rely on institutions in our quest for justice. In a very slim margin of three versus two judges, the ICC voted to authorize the continuation of investigations on crimes against humanity that may have been committed during the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.
When individuals are eventually named as accused in the ICC investigation, however, the indicted persons can again raise the same issue of jurisdiction. In this second round, the outcome can potentially be different, with the ICC ruling that it has already lost jurisdiction over the Philippines. Of course, we must pursue ICC prosecution to the very end, but if the ICC says “Filipinos, you’re on your own,” is it the end of the road for us? And what if the accused individuals kick the bucket before any ICC prosecution begins or ends, is that it for us?
Neither can we rely on the domestic justice system. The Marcos administration pretends to be blind, deaf, and mute. It insists that our courts are functioning, when the issue is the utter nonfunctioning of our police and prosecution forces to bring the right cases in our courts. We may have independent and fearless judges (but this invites spirited debate), but if our police forces refuse to investigate either because they have dirty hands or they fear their superiors with dirty hands, and our prosecutors fail to prosecute because they fear losing their jobs or promotion prospects, we will have judges neutered of their ability to beget justice.
Our current government insists that it’s investigating foot policemen, when the ICC has repeatedly been urging that the investigations must include the masterminds. The ruling administration insists that its investigations on those who pulled the trigger are enough, when the ICC has been pointing out that it will only be enough if investigations include those who gave the orders for the trigger to be pulled.
If we can’t give our wholehearted reliance on domestic and international judicial institutions, where then do we look for justice? We can draw lessons from our years under the Marcos dictatorship. The late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was not tried and convicted in any criminal case because death intervened. But the dark period of his rule has been engraved in our history and etched in our collective memory, because of books, songs, poems, films, theater plays, paintings, and other art forms that have become part of our cultural heritage.
The martial law years resulted in the death of more than 3,000 victims of extrajudicial killings, and many works of art that have become cultural classics were produced from the tragic stories of those years. These include songs that were either created or popularized during that period and which have become standard protest songs even now, and paintings that hang in our National Museum that visually narrate the cruelties of that dark period of our history.
Close to 30,000 people died from the violent drug war of the Duterte years, which is 1,000 percent more than the casualties of the Marcos dictatorship. But where are the songwriters, filmmakers, painters, poets, and writers of this generation who should have the societal mission to create cultural remembrances and historical reminders of those bloody years?
There has been a sputtering of indie films, poems, and photo art that document those violent years, but the output has been disproportionately miniscule. Is it because the victims of the drug war were confined to the ranks of the poor, while the victims of the Marcos dictatorship affected the rich and poor alike?
Our pursuit of justice through judicial institutions (international or national) is essentially a quest for vengeance against leaders responsible for the bloodshed. But what about our pursuit of justice against a people that cheered from the bleachers or looked the other way, allowing the unprecedented carnage to rampage all over our country?
A judicial conviction that results in the incarceration of our leaders, will only amount to a symbolic victory for justice, if our country remains inhabited by a bloodthirsty and indifferent citizenry. No judge can convict an inanimate culture of violence (which can keep on spawning cruel leaders). The crucible rests on our artists, singers, writers, filmmakers, theater producers, and creative talents.
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