Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Thursday said he was leaving his fate to God following a claim that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant for his arrest.

The claim was made by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte who said on social media that a reliable source had told him that arrest warrants had been issued for Go and two former police officials.

“I leave everything to God. Throughout my life, I have not violated any law of man or any law of God,” Go said in Filipino.

The senator maintained that police operations during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte were never part of his job as Special Assistant to the President.

“I hope and pray that the issue regarding the supposed ICC warrant against me will not be politicized,” he added.

Not political

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said there was nothing political about the ICC cases filed against former President Duterte and members of his administration in connection with the alleged extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

“The ICC is a court. There is a case filed by our fellow Filipinos against alleged extrajudicial killings,” Castro said.

The Palace denial comes against the backdrop of the government’s handling of the ICC case against Duterte.

Before Duterte’s arrest, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. repeatedly said the Philippines would not cooperate with the ICC, citing the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute. 

Philippine authorities, however, maintained that they acted pursuant to obligations arising from international law enforcement mechanisms and requests coursed through relevant agencies.

As this developed, the Departments of Justice and of the Interior and Local Government, as well as the Philippine National Police, denied having received any formal communication regarding an ICC warrant for Go.

Likewise, the ICC has not issued a statement regarding the claim of Representative Duterte.

Sara link

The claim of an ICC warrant for Go has been linked to the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte and the legal challenges faced by key allies of former President Duterte.

Go and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa are among the most prominent political allies of the former president, who is currently detained in The Hague facing a trial before the ICC. 

Dela Rosa, meanwhile, continues to evade the ICC warrant against him.

The developments have added another layer of uncertainty to the impeachment proceedings, where senators are expected to serve as judges while political alignments within the chamber continue to evolve.

House prosecution spokesperson Rep. Gerville Luistro earlier warned that the number of senators available to sit as senator-judges could affect the math required to secure a conviction in the impeachment trial.

She cited the detention of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada as he faces plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan and questioned whether Dela Rosa would personally attend the trial since he had gone into hiding.

The developments have added another layer of uncertainty to the impeachment proceedings, where senators are expected to serve as judges while political alignments within the chamber continue to evolve.

Recent shifts in the Senate have likewise attracted attention. 

Political observers have pointed to the transfer of Senators Francis Escudero and Joel Villanueva from the bloc of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to the now majority bloc led by new Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

Kickbacks

The realignment has coincided with continuing scrutiny of the multibillion-peso flood control controversy, which is the subject of congressional inquiries and investigations by various government agencies.

DAILY TRIBUNE previously reported claims by expelled Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and a group of whistleblowers alleging billions of pesos in kickbacks from flood control projects. 

The allegations implicated several high-profile political figures, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. 

Administration officials have maintained that investigations being conducted by government agencies are independent and based on evidence gathered by investigators and oversight bodies. 

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes asserted that no new arrest warrant from the ICC has been released for any public official in the country.

“Don’t believe Pulong. There has been no ICC warrant that was released for anyone. If there were a warrant later on, I’m sure he would not know it, like how his father did not know that there was a warrant against him,” Trillanes said in a Facebook post.