SolGen: PHL won't assist ICC in drug war probe

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra announced that the Philippine government would likely not help the International Criminal Court (ICC) secure interviews with the five individuals allegedly under investigation for acts committed during the war against illegal drugs while President Rodrigo Duterte was in office.

Guevarra noted that while the final response from the government is uncertain, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stated that the Philippines is not legally obligated to cooperate with the ICC, indicating a likely negative response.

Guevarra clarified that the ICC prosecutor could continue the investigation independently. “All that we’re saying is the government will not be involved,” he said. “No, we’ll not get in the way. The ICC prosecutor can do that voluntarily, by himself, directly talking to these five people.”

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV previously disclosed that the ICC prosecutor considers Senator Ronald Dela Rosa and four other former and current police officials as suspects in the investigation. The confidential document shared by Trillanes indicated that the ICC prosecutor has reasonable grounds to believe that these individuals, including former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., former National Police Commission official Edilberto Leonardo, and former PNP Chief Intelligence Officer Eleazar Mata, may have committed crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction.

Guevarra explained that the ICC prosecutor requested the government’s assistance to obtain full information about the drug war, as an arrest warrant cannot be applied for without this information. He noted that while the prosecutor has information from the complainants, there is limited information from the accused.

Finally, he said that the prosecutor had a duty to investigate all facts, whether incriminating or exonerating, to provide a balanced view to the pre-trial chamber for its decision on whether to issue an arrest warrant or not.