đź“·Police Major General Romeo Caramat
FOLLOWING reports on Major General Romeo Caramat’s willingness to disclose everything he knew about the extrajudicial killings (EJK) and reward system during the previous administration’s war against illegal drugs, a lawyer representing the family of slain drug suspects finds the offer as a welcome development.
In an interview with ONE News’ Storycon, lawyer Kristina Conti in her capacity as ICC-designated representative of the EJK victims’ kin said that the possibility of tapping the former Criminal and Investigation and Detection (CIDG) chief would help secure conviction of former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Ronald dela Rosa.
“Kung maraming alam si Caramat at kung sigurado siya sa sasabihin niya, posibleng siya pa yung mag witness on the stand in person at importante yan dahil high enough siya, mataas ang kanyang posisyon na maaaring magdawit sa mataas mag konek doon sa taas na nag-utos at doon sa gumawa na nasa baba,” she explained.
“The fact that Caramat is involved in big-time drug operations leads us to the possibility that he knows something.”
She however clarified that ICC’s vetting process for potential witnesses takes a great deal of validation – and that Caramat’s testimony doesn’t automatically translate to exoneration.
“I would say, at this point, without divulging, looking at the evidence of the Office of the Prosecutor, he could be offered, not exactly immunity, but some sort of deal,” she stressed.
She likewise gave a premium on the “great deal” of information that Caramat could offer – on top of an assurance that the former CIDG chief would not recant.
“To be a state witness, ang tawag nila doon ay insider witness requires a great deal of information that he could provide. Hindi pwedeng basta basta na ay parang alam ko nga yan, dapat alam ko po yan,” Conti explained.
“The certainty of his info and of his turning witness, one thing that the court will not do with is yung baliktarin, recantations, quite common in the court pero they frown on it when they present a witness before the court.”
Asked whether or not dela Rosa, who is known to be extremely close to Duterte, could qualify as witness, Conti said that such an idea may not sit well for the families of slain drug suspects – or even with the ICC.
The lawyer said dela Rosa doesn’t seem fit since he was the designated implementer of the drug war which killed thousands – including children and innocent civilians.
“Senator Bato dela Rosa as a witness against who? That will be interesting because right now I see him as well as someone who is most responsible for the killings. Yung responsible kasi di naman iisa lang yan no, isang grupo, at kung meron man na pinaka masisisi sa patayan, of course there would be President Duterte pero paano niya magagawa yon?”
Sa pamamagitan ng pulis at yan ay sa pamamagitan ni Senator dela Rosa. Kung sa rules natin sa pagiging state witness, baka di siya mag qualify kaya sa pagiging insider witness, I would say unlikely,” she further expounded.
Pressed to make a prediction as to when the ICC would issue warrants for the arrest of the former President and his “minions,” Conti cited instances when the ICC made an announcement regarding the issued warrant after the arrest had been made.
“From some of the cases we’ve seen, the announcement of the arrest warrant or even the announcement that these people have been arrested comes only after the arrest. Crucial kasi yung moment na malalaman mo tapos tataka ka, to minimize the opportunity to subvert the processes, in most cases, the proceedings are confidential,” she quipped. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
