Myanmar nationals ask Philippines' appeals court to act on stalled war crimes case

This composite photo depicts the flag of Myanmar, which the military regime has controlled since seizing power in 2021.

Graphics by Philstar.com / Anjilica Andaya

MANILA, Philippines — Myanmar nationals who survived the civil war in Chin State have asked the Court of Appeals to compel Philippine authorities to act on their war crimes complaint against members of Myanmar's military junta.

The petitioners filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus on November 3, asking the appellate court to order action on their pending motion for reconsideration, formally docket their 2023 complaint-affidavit and proceed with a preliminary investigation.

They are also seeking to nullify a February 2024 letter from the Department of Justice and what they described as subsequent "implied denials" of their complaint.

Through the petition for mandamus, the survivors asked Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida and Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon to conduct a preliminary investigation into the alleged war crimes.

Named as respondents in the complaint are Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Vung Suan Thang, Lt. General Tay Zar Kyaw, Maj. General Phyo Thant, Maj. General Than Htike, Brig. General Myo Htut Hlaing, Col. Saw Thun, Lt. Col. Myo Zin Tun and Major Nay Myo Oo.

The survivors first sought help from Philippine authorities in 2024, arguing that Republic Act 9851 allows Philippine courts to hear war crimes and crimes against humanity cases involving acts committed abroad, under certain conditions.

The DOJ previously declined to act on the complaint because neither the victims nor the accused are Filipino and the respondents are not in the Philippines. The survivors argue, however, that the principle of universal jurisdiction still requires Philippine authorities to at least investigate the alleged war crimes.

'Three years of silence'

Lawyer Rommel Bagares said the petition seeks to enforce the survivors' constitutional right to the speedy disposition of cases and due process.

"The right to the speedy disposition of cases is not a courtesy. It is a guarantee written into Article III, Section 16 of our Constitution," Bagares said.

"Three years of silence is not neutrality. For a displaced population whose witnesses are aging, every month of delay is prejudice," he added.

Lawyer Gilbert Andres, meanwhile, invoked Section 17 of the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

"If Section 17 is robust enough for the State to wield in other cases, it cannot be too weak for these Chin victims to invoke in theirs," Andres said.

Andres and other lawyers filed a motion to resolve with the DOJ on July 31 after the complaint had remained pending since 2023.

The Chin survivors, through Andres and Bagares, filed the complaint invoking "universal jurisdiction" over alleged war crimes.