ICC prosecutors deny bribery claim; Trillanes accuses Duterte camp of Marines’ affidavit

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors categorically denied Thursday accusations that they received bribes from the Philippine government in connection with former president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity case, asserting that their investigation into the bloody drug war was independently funded by the court.

“The OTP (Office of the Prosecutor) activities are funded through the court’s budget, approved by the ICC assembly of States Parties and subject to established oversight mechanisms,” read the statement by the prosecution team sent to reporters.

“The costs related to OTP prosecutions and investigative activities, including mission expenses, are fully covered by this budget and managed strictly by the office in an independent and transparent manner, and in accordance with ICC financial rules and regulations,” it added.

This follows damning allegations by 18 former members of the Philippine Marine Corps, or the so-called “bagmen” of fugitive former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, during a press conference earlier this week. They were represented by lawyer Levito Balingod and armed with photos of supposed cash deliveries as evidence.

The supposed Marines alleged that they delivered suitcases stuffed with cold cash, totaling P805 billion, to President Marcos Jr. and several top government officials, members of Congress, and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV. The money allegedly came from kickbacks from flood control projects.

The affidavit alleged that Trillanes, a staunch critic of Duterte and among the petitioners of the complaint that triggered the ICC probe into Duterte’s bloody drug war, received $2 million in December 2023, allegedly intended to fund the activities of ICC investigators during their visit to the Philippines to probe Duterte’s bloody drug war.

The OTP, however, contended that it “independently collects information relevant to its investigations” and did not seek monetary assistance from external sources.

“It examines incriminating and exonerating evidence equally. The disclosure of information in the cases before the Court is strictly regulated by the ICC legal framework and under the control of independent ICC Judges,” it said.

Duterte camp ‘funded, organized’ scheme

Trillanes vehemently denied accusations of bribing ICC prosecutors and vowed to sue Balingod and the Marines, the majority of whom had been dishonorably discharged, while four were not actually members of the service, the Philippine Navy announced.

Trillanes explicitly accused the Duterte camp of “financing” and “organizing” the scheme to discredit the ongoing pre-trial hearing against Duterte, as well as to destabilize the Marcos administration amid the looming hearing on the impeachment cases against Vice President Sara Duterte in the House of Representatives next week.

“One of the cars used by the Marines to go to the press conference was registered to Mike Defensor's wife,” Trillanes said in Filipino in ANC’s Headstart interview on Thursday.

He also took issue with the timing of the explosive allegations, occurring one day before the 40th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, which toppled the administration of Marcos’ father and namesake, then-President Marcos Sr.

The objective, he suspected, was to “trigger public outrage” and mimic what happened in EDSA in 1986 in a bid to overthrow Marcos Jr.

“You can see that this didn't happen randomly. Eighteen ex-soldiers? How did they communicate? You can imagine how they organized this. So, Duterte’s camp is really behind this because they stand to benefit most from this,” Trillanes added. “It was really set up to ignite certain emotions.”

He also warned that the Marines and Balingod risk facing “obstruction of justice” charges under Article 70 of the Rome Statute—the ICC’s founding treaty—for posting alleged photos of the ICC probers and witnesses in their affidavit.