AMID talks over the imminent arrival of a foreign prosecutor, the government reaffirmed its earlier position not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has been investigating the extrajudicial killings which took place during the previous administration.
According to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, the administration stands firm that the Philippines has disengaged from the ICC.
However, he said that there is no way that the government could possibly stop the ICC prosecutor from coming over to interview persons of interest in its investigation on the bloody drug war perpetrated by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“The Philippine government cannot stop him (ICC) from proceeding in any way he wants,” Guevarra told reporters.
“He can directly interview persons of interest online, through the phone, by email, or face to face, subject to the consent of these persons,” he added.
“The ICC prosecutor cannot expect that the Philippine government will facilitate him,” the Solicitor General further said.
Guevarra, who was Justice Secretary of the previous administration declined to delve into details although he admitted that the document that was made public by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV is supposedly confidential.
Trillanes, on his Facebook post uploaded a four-page document which he claims were sneaked by an insider, dragged Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and four other former ranking police officials as suspects.
Aside from dela Rosa, likewise dragged into the ICC case were former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Romeo Caramat Jr., former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and former PNP Intelligence Officer Eleazar Mata.
Interestingly Guevarra confirmed that the ICC prosecutor requested assistance from the Philippine government.
“Humihingi ng assistance ‘yung ICC prosecutor sa Philippine government para ma facilitate yung pag interview ng prosecutor dito sa limang tao na binabanggit doon sa communication,” he averred. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
