Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday confirmed that he met with personnel from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to discuss security arrangements for Filipino witnesses in the crimes against humanity case against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Remulla said the meeting took place more than a year ago, when he was still serving as justice secretary, after former senator Antonio Trillanes IV introduced him to two ICC representatives. The discussion focused on ensuring protection for witnesses involved in the ICC proceedings, noting that they are Filipino nationals.
He maintained that the Department of Justice’s assistance to the ICC witnesses was both legally and morally justified.
“Why not? What is at stake here is the life of the witnesses. We need to protect human life to the best of our ability,” Remulla said.
The issue arose after lawyer Levito Baligod accused Remulla of graft in connection with the meeting, claiming it caused “undue damage” to the government. However, Baligod declined to specify the alleged damage when pressed, saying he would not disclose possible links and mentioning a kidnapping case filed by Duterte’s family.
Baligod was referring to kidnapping charges lodged by the former president’s family in relation to his arrest and detention at an ICC facility.
Last week, Baligod submitted to the Ombudsman a joint affidavit from 18 former Marines alleging that ex-Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co ordered them to distribute suitcases of money to various individuals. Baligod represents the soldiers.
Remulla, however, said the joint affidavit would not suffice in its current form. He said each of the 18 individuals would need to submit separate affidavits to establish that the allegations are based on their personal knowledge.
He added that the document appeared to be a compilation of claims merged into a single affidavit, which he said is not the proper format for such submissions.