MANILA: The prospect of being ordered arrested this year by the International Criminal Court doesn’t worry former president Rodrigo Duterte, as any arrest warrant the UN-backed ICC might issue would be “worthless and useless,” his camp said.
In separate text messages to The STAR, former Duterte officials – executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, presidential spokesman Harry Roque, and chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo – said reports on an impending issuance of arrest warrants by the ICC should not be taken seriously as President Marcos himself had ruled out cooperating with the court.
Panelo said assuming that Trillanes’ pronouncements were true, such arrest orders were worthless and should be ignored considering that Marcos had already reaffirmed his predecessor’s position that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.“The discredited renegade just wants publicity for himself. He has become totally irrelevant,” Panelo said, referring to Trillanes.
“His image might even worsen if they continue doing it this way. They must face this squarely and responsibility to recoup its image,” he said.He also said Trillanes “is just a kibitzer craving for attention. Let’s not take him seriously.” Citing information he received, Roque also said that “high-level government officials met with the investigators” during their visit.
“Legally, the court has no jurisdiction, and we will exhaust all legal remedies, including of course the fact that it is mandatory to face Philippine courts first before they can actually bring an accused to the ICC,” he added. Roque also described Trillanes as “full of hot air” for claiming that he was serving as “facilitator” between the ICC and some witnesses. “I’m not aware of a position of a facilitator,” he added.
More than 6,000 drug suspects had been killed in the previous administration’s drug war based on government data. However, human rights groups said the number of dead could be several times higher.
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