PHL won’t stop ICC probe of drug war — solicitor general
By Chloe Mari A. Hufana
THE GOVERNMENT of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. would not stop the International Criminal Court (ICC) from interviewing officials believed to have aided the state’s deadly drug war, according to the solicitor general.
“[The Philippines] has no legal duty to lend any assistance to the ICC prosecutor in conducting his investigation,” Solicitor-General Menardo I. Guevarra told BusinessWorld in a Viber message. “But the government cannot stop him from proceeding any way he wants.”
Former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV earlier posted a document in his X account naming the five police officials, including Senator Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa. The lawmaker was ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s national police chief who led his anti-illegal drug campaign from 2016 to 2022.
“He can directly interview persons of interest online, through the phone, by e-mail, or face-to-face, subject to the consent of these persons,” Mr. Guevarra said. “But the ICC prosecutor cannot expect that the Philippine government will facilitate it for him.”
“What’s new? My name has always been mentioned since 2016,” Mr. De la Rosa said last week. “Seems like a broken record that keeps on repeating the same lines.”
Mr. Marcos, Jr. earlier this year ruled out state cooperation in the ICC probe, which he said violates Philippine sovereignty.
In his third State of the Nation Address before Congress on July 22, he affirmed the country’s “functioning judicial system.”
In January 2023, the ICC authorized the reopening of the inquiry after it was suspended in November 2021.
The tribunal’s Appeals Chamber in July 2023 also junked the government’s petition against the resumption of the probe.
About 12,000 people died in Mr. Duterte’s drug war, according to Human Rights Watch.
There have only been four known convictions of erring cops in the drug war.