MALACAÑANG on Monday urged current and former officials named in the crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court to face any legal process and avoid going into hiding if they believe they are innocent.
“First of all, if you are hiding, what does that mean? Are you guilty of something? Are you hiding so you can escape or evade the liability of what you have done?” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said.
“There is no need to hide if they know they have done nothing wrong. Face it and be brave in the possible process,” she added.
Two sitting senators—Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go—have been identified as among the eight “co-perpetrators” in Duterte’s case, ICC documents released by prosecutors showed.
Other former officials tagged in the document are former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, who served as lawyer for Duterte in cases involving the so-called Davao Death Squad; former Philippine National Police officials Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan (deceased), Oscar Albayalde, and Isidro Lapeña; and former National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran.
Castro said the government would cooperate with Interpol in the same manner it had in previous cases.
“If this is a legal process coming from the ICC, we cannot interfere with it…If there is already an arrest warrant issued, it has to be implemented,” Castro said when asked if the government will be monitoring the movement of the incumbent and former officials named as Duterte’s co-perpetrators.
“So as to whether they will be monitored, there is no reason for us to monitor them because we have not yet received any warrants of arrest,” she said.
Although the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, the tribunal maintains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while the country was still a member, Castro noted.
As this developed, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson and Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros said Monday the upper chamber will discuss possible courses of action as they navigate the complex situation of grappling with the ICC.
In separate statements, Lacson and Hontiveros said this uncharted territory would not be easy as the Senate risks the possibility of losing two of its members—Dela Rosa and Go.
Hontiveros said the situation of Dela Rosa and Go with the ICC remains at the indictment stage, with no documents yet issued that would formally trigger specific legal processes.
“By tradition, while the Senate is in session, no member is arrested within its premises. If there are further developments that arise, I am sure the Senate leadership will take the lead in discussing them with all of us,” she said.
Lacson said the Senate majority will discuss on Wednesday possible measures in the event the ICC moves to issue warrants of arrest against Go and Dela Rosa, who are aligned with the minority.
Duterte is facing a four-day “confirmation of charges” hearing starting February 23, where ICC judges decide whether the prosecution’s allegations are strong enough to proceed to trial.
Judges have rejected arguments that the 80-year-old, who was arrested in March last year and transferred to the Netherlands the same day, was unfit to stand trial.
The first of three counts against Duterte concerns his alleged involvement as a co-perpetrator in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while he was mayor of Davao City.
The second relates to 14 murders of so-called “High Value Targets” in 2016 and 2017 when Duterte was president.
The third charge covers 43 murders committed during “clearance” operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers.
These took place across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018, the prosecution alleged. With AFP
