SENATOR Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has all the reason to be anxious after the International Criminal Court (ICC) “officially” tagged him and four other police generals as suspects behind the extrajudicial killings in the guise of a drug war, says former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
Aside from dela Rosa, likewise named in the ICC list of suspects are former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde, former PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Major Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and former PNP chief intelligence officer Brig. Gen. Eleazar Matta.
Of the five police generals, two have remained in the PNP active list – Caramat who is currently the PNP Northern Luzon chief and Matta who is the director of the PNP Philippine Drug Enforcement Group.
This comes as Trillanes claimed that an official copy of the “suspects’ list” had already been sent by the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor to the Philippine government through the Philippine Embassy based in The Hague, Netherlands.
Part of the document supposedly found “reasonable grounds to believe” that five police generals (former and current) “have committed crimes within” its jurisdiction.
Trillanes added that former President Rodrigo Duterte is the principal suspect.
“The OTP is currently focusing its investigation on allegations of widespread and systematic killings of individuals in the Philippines, as part of a policy to eliminate drug users and suppliers between 2011 and 2019,” read the document, portions of which were redacted. “During this period, large numbers of drug offenders were killed during police enforcement activity,” it said.
“Under Article 54(1)a of the Rome Statute, the OTP is obliged to conduct investigations which cover all the facts and evidence. This includes providing individuals under suspicion of crimes to provide their version of events. In this context, the OTP has reasonable grounds to believe that the following retired and serving members of the Philippine National Police have committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the OTP.”
Article 54 of the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, defines the duties and powers of the ICC prosecutor.
Trillanes, a former senator, however would not make a categorical claim if the five police generals would be included in the first batch of arrest warrants.
“From persons of interest, now they are primary suspects or principals by indispensable cooperation,” said Trillanes.
As this developed, Trillanes urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to seriously consider the idea of taking bold steps in the soonest possible time as two of the “primary suspects” behind Duterte’s bloody war against drugs are holding sensitive positions in the PNP.
“The bottomline is, it’s now up to the Philippine government and President Marcos on what he will do with this information.” (ANGEL F. JOSE)
