美国国家公共电台 NPR--Philippines won't cooperate in probe involving crimes against humanity allegations

Philippines won't cooperate in probe involving crimes against humanity allegations

Transcript¹

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says he won't cooperate with an International Criminal Court probe into his country's war on drugs, which could put Marcos in a difficult spot politically.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The International Criminal Court has denied an appeal by the Philippine government to stop the court's investigation² into the country's lethal³ yearslong war against drugs. As Ashley Westerman reports from Manila, the Philippines is accused of committing crimes against humanity. And its current administration says it will not cooperate with the probe.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE⁴: At a high school auditorium⁵ in Caloocan City in the northern part of metro⁶ Manila, a special play is being put on about the Philippines.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Welcome to the Philippines. The Philippines is called the pearl of the orient seas.

WESTERMAN: But this performance is not about praising the Philippines. It's political performance art that aims to air out the country's dirty laundry.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) The Philippines is a nation of so many political promises that failed. Welcome.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

WESTERMAN: For several minutes, actors parade across the stage holding signs that spell out things like corruption⁷, inflation, illegal mining, bullying⁸ by China. Eventually, the performance turns its attention to the government's ongoing⁹ war on drugs launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. Amelia Santos (ph), the 55-year-old widow of a man allegedly killed by police in an anti-drug operation, takes the mic.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY)

AMELIA SANTOS: (Non-English language spoken).

WESTERMAN: "I didn't believe it at first," she says. Santos recalls coming home from work to be told her husband had been shot multiple times by police.

(SOUNDBITE OF PLAY)

SANTOS: (Non-English language spoken).

WESTERMAN: "And to this day, justice eludes¹⁰ her family," she says. She's not alone. Nearly the entire cast is made up of people who have lost loved ones in the so-called war on drugs and have not received justice for the killings¹¹. Philippine officials say that only some 6,200 people have died in anti-drug operations since 2016. Most police claim self-defense in these incidents. But rights groups in the United Nations estimate it could be more, killed extra-judiciously by either police or vigilantes.

AURORA¹² PARONG: Human rights organizations have been saying that 27,000 to about 30,000 might have been killed.

WESTERMAN: Aurora Parong is with the Philippine Coalition¹³ for the International Criminal Court. It is these killings outside of the law that the ICC wants to investigate. It began in 2021 and has been met with various pushbacks over the years. But since the court denied an appeal by the Philippines last month...

PARONG: The ICC office of the prosecutor¹⁴ can now continue what they started as an investigation into the possible crimes against humanity.

WESTERMAN: For human rights campaigners and legal experts, the person responsible is former President Duterte. But current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says the government will not cooperate because it has already concluded that the police are just doing their jobs.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT BONGBONG MARCOS: I do not see what their jurisdiction¹⁵ is. I feel that we have in our police and our judiciary a good system.

WESTERMAN: Indeed, the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2018. But since the killings began before that, the court can still investigate. This puts President Marcos in a difficult position politically, says Jean Encinas-Franco, a political scientist at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

JEAN ENCINAS-FRANCO: His recent pronouncements regarding the ICC probe brings back the violent history of his father. So instead of making gains in terms of reviving the Marcos name before the international community, I see it as a setback¹⁶.

WESTERMAN: But Marcos also owes his presidential victory to his alliance with the Dutertes, Franco says, particularly Sara Duterte, the current vice¹⁷ president and the daughter of the former president.

ENCINAS-FRANCO: I think Marcos Jr. would not want to antagonize Sara Duterte's supporters.

WESTERMAN: And polls show that Duterte, as well as the war against drugs as a policy, remain incredibly popular among Filipino voters today.

(CROSSTALK)

WESTERMAN: Back at the auditorium, the play has wrapped up. Backstage, Amelia Santos says this is her first time to perform.

SANTOS: (Non-English language spoken).

WESTERMAN: "After my husband died, I wasn't able to say anything I felt," she says. "Now I'm relieved." Like other victims' families, Santos will have to wait and see what comes of the International Criminal Court investigation. But in the meantime, she says she will continue to fight for justice herself.

For NPR News, I'm Ashley Westerman in Manila.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

6 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 eludes   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的第三人称单数 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• His name eludes me for the moment. 他的名字我一时想不起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But philosophers seek a special sort of knowledge that eludes exact definition. 但是，哲学家所追求的是一种难以精确定义的特殊知识。 来自哲学部分

11 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

12 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

13 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

14 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

15 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

16 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。