Co denies involvement in ICC case vs DU30: 'Entirely false'

Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co dismissed as “fake news” on Thursday speculations that he was sent to The Hague by the administration to coordinate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which ordered the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity related to his infamous drug war.

Co, a prominent ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., previously held a key post in the House of Representatives. He categorically denied any involvement with the international tribunal or any supposed trip to The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICC is headquartered.

“While I confirm that I recently traveled abroad, it was solely for a scheduled personal meeting in Rome and had nothing to do with the ICC,” the Bicolano lawmaker stressed.

Co asserted that this is evident from his travel records, showing he departed Manila on Emirates Flight EK333 to Dubai on 11 March and proceeded to Rome on Emirates Flight EK0097 the other day.

“Any claims suggesting that I am in The Hague or any location other than Rome are entirely false…I believe this is a concerted effort to divert the public’s attention from the real issue,” he added.

A day prior, Co also disowned ownership of the Gulfstream G550 jet chartered plane that transported Duterte to The Hague.

Co issued the statement after DAILY TRIBUNE sought clarification from his office following a tip from an unknown number alleging that the lawmaker was an “appointed representative” of Marcos in the ICC involving Duterte’s case.

Co is among the supermajority bloc allied with Marcos. He was the former chairman of the powerful House committee on appropriations overseeing the government’s annual budget. He relinquished the post in January, citing health concerns.

The anonymous number told DAILY TRIBUNE that Co “will monitor the turnover procedures of Duterte to ICC and ensure the investigation goes smoothly” and that the Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands is already “instructed” to closely coordinate with Co. 

He alleged that Co left the country at 5:30 PM on Tuesday and arrived in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning, purportedly to coordinate with the ICC ahead of Duterte’s arrival.

In August last year, Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa, who spearheaded Duterte’s bloody anti-narcotics crackdown, accused Co and Speaker Martin Romualdez of “pressuring” retired and active-duty police officials to execute an affidavit, which would then be submitted to the ICC, implicating him and Duterte in the war on drugs.

The senator alleged that Romualdez and Co were accompanied by National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Ricardo De Leon and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, whom he claimed was primarily responsible for holding the closed-door meeting with the police officials.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) denied De la Rosa’s allegations.

Dela Rosa, who is also being implicated in the ICC, served as PNP chief from 2016 to mid-2018. He was succeeded by retired police chief Oscar Albayalde, who continued to implement the brutal drug war, which saw more than 7,000 deaths based on the government’s data.

But local and international human rights organizations, however, estimated that the figures were a far cry from the actual death toll, probably exceeding 30,000, affecting predominantly low-income families and communities.

Human rights lawyer Kristina Conti, ICC assistant to counsel, has projected that Dela Rosa and Albayalde could be the next targets of the ICC following the arrest of their former boss Duterte.