DoJ manhunt eyes ICC probers
Remulla said if ICC investigators were in the country and started a probe into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, this would be considered unofficial.
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Daily TribuneRemulla said if ICC investigators were in the country and started a probe into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, this would be considered unofficial.
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Former President Rodrigo Duterte (Framefrab courtesy of SMNI)
The Department of Justice is acting on information that International Criminal Court, or ICC, investigators had entered the country to start a probe into the crimes against humanity charges involving several personalities, including former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The supposed entry of ICC probers, according to Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Mico Clavano, has raised concerns, and if true, the ICC probers may have entered the country "without proper identification."
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had expressed misgivings about the lack of communication from the ICC, saying, "They have not contacted the DoJ yet. It is their responsibility to establish contact following international law principles. Until they do so, any ongoing activities are not formal. We lack clarity on their intentions."
The possibility of ICC probers being in the country was first floated by former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, who said some people had told him that ICC personnel were "coming in and out."
No clandestine entry
Clavano said the ICC should inform the government if its investigators were in the country.
"It would be in their best interest to let us know that they would be conducting their investigation, of course, with the assistance of the government," he said.
The Bureau of Immigration had no information about ICC investigators being in the country, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.
Remulla said if ICC investigators were in the country and had begun an investigation into the Duterte administration's war on drugs, this would be considered unofficial.
He underscored the need for ICC investigators to establish formal contact with the DoJ and to collaborate with the Philippine government based on international law.
Roque did not reveal his sources, thus, Clavano said, the DoJ could not just believe everything he said.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra had spoken out against cooperating with the ICC after it denied in July 2023 the government's petition against the resumption of its inquiry.
