MANILA, Philippines (Updated 7:27 p.m.) — Former officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been tagged as the “new suspects” by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the alleged crimes committed during the Duterte administration’s anti-narcotics campaign.
In a four-page document posted by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, the ICC said that five former PNP officials were suspected to be responsible for the ordering of the killings of drug suspects and users from 2011 to 2019.
“…The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has reasonable grounds to believe that the following retired and serving members of the Philippine National Police, have committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the OTP,” the document read.
ICC UPDATE:
The following former and active PNP officials are now considered as suspects in the ICC case against Duterte:
1. Bato dela Rosa;
2. Oscar Albayalde;
3. Romeo Caramat Jr.;
4. Edilberto Leonardo; and
5. Eleazar Mata(See ICC order below) pic.twitter.com/eogMW2c4yp
— Sonny Trillanes IV (@TrillanesSonny) July 25, 2024
Four of the five are the following officials:
- Former PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde
- Former PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Chief Romero Caramat Jr.
- Former Commissioner of the National Police Commission, Edilberto Leonardo
- Former PNP Chief Intelligence Officer Eleazar Mata
Among the five is also former PNP chief and now Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, who previously said he was unbothered by the ICC’s decision to continue its investigation into the drug war in the Philippines. He, however, admitted was scared of being imprisoned.
Dela Rosa was appointed as the first PNP chief by former President Rodrigo Duterte following his presidential victory in 2016.
During his tenure, Dela Rosa supervised the enforcement of “Oplan Tokhang,” a controversial anti-drug initiative that resulted in thousands of fatalities, according to local and international human rights groups.
Albayalde, on the other hand, succeeded Dela Rosa as PNP chief in April 2018 and held that post until October 2019.
Aside from Dela Rosa and former president Duterte, official documents submitted to the ICC, containing evidence related to the drug war, included the names of Vice President Sara Duterte and Sen. Bong Go, according to a July 2023 report by VERA Files.
On Sept. 15, 2021, the ICC’s pre-trial chamber authorized the ICC prosecutor to begin probing the alleged crimes committed during the drug war spanning from Nov. 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019.
The Philippine government then asked the ICC to defer its investigation within the country which the international tribunal declined.
This prompted the government to appeal its decision, which once again was struck down by the ICC on July 18 which gives the green light to the ICC prosecutor to push through with the probe.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Department of Justice previously emphasized that the country has no obligation to comply with the ICC as it has withdrawn its membership from the international tribunal.
This claim, however, has also been previously contested by legal experts, saying that the alleged crimes committed were done when the Philippines was still a member of the ICC, citing Article 27 of the Rome Statute.
In a message to Philstar.com, Dela Rosa said the development is nothing new.
“What’s new? My name was always mentioned since 2016. Seems like a broken record that keeps on repeating the same lines,” he said.
The DOJ, on the other hand, has yet to respond to Philstar.com’s request for comment regarding Trillanes’ update.
On July 22, during his third State of the Nation Address, Marcos boasted that the war on drugs by the current administration has been “bloodless” saying that no drug suspect has been “exterminated.”
However, contrary to the president’s pronouncements, human rights watchdog Dahas Project from the University of the Philippines Third World Studies Center recorded 359 such killings from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, with state agents allegedly responsible for 34.3% of these incidents.
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