HoR will not work with ICC on Duterte’s case — SecGen

The House of Representatives has yet to receive any formal request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the alleged crimes against humanity case against former President Rodrigo Duterte, according to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

Velasco, however, made it clear that even if a request were made, the lower chamber would not comply, citing the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC.

"Actually, we haven't received anything. As the QuadComm chairman [House QuadComm lead chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Barbers] said, even if they write to us, we cannot comply because we are no longer a member of the ICC,” he told reporters in an ambush interview at the Senate.

“But as I said, all of the documents are already public. All you have to do is access the hearings on YouTube, Facebook, and all social media platforms. Everything is on social media… from the first hearing to the last hearing,” he added.

Velasco made the remarks in response to questions about whether the lower chamber had received any communication from the ICC regarding Duterte’s case.

The House QuadComm mega panel hearing previously investigated the alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration.

During one of the hearings, retired police colonel Royina Garma testified that Duterte personally ordered her to find police officers willing to implement an anti-narcotics campaign similar to the “Davao model.”

Garma explained that the so-called Davao Model operated as a reward-for-kill scheme with three levels of payment:

“First is the reward if the suspect is killed. Second is the funding of planned operations. Third is the refund of operational expenses,” she stated in her affidavit during the House QuadComm hearing.

She added that she recommended then-police colonel Edilberto Leonardo, her upperclassman at the Philippine National Police Academy, to lead the operation based on Duterte’s preference for a policeman who was a member of Iglesia Ni Cristo.

During last week's House QuadComm hearing, Leonardo confirmed the existence of a reward scheme for police officers who killed drug suspects.