November 14, 2024 | 3:48pm
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday remained indifferent to his predecessor’s desire to be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
For Marcos, the government will not stop former president Rodrigo Duterte from surrendering himself or cooperating. But neither will the government help him.
“If ‘yun ang gugustuhin ni PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) ay hindi naman kami haharang doon sa mga ICC. Hindi lang kami tutulong. Ngunit kung pumapayag siya na makipag-usap siya o magpa-imbestiga siya sa ICC ay nasa kanya ‘yun. Wala na kaming desisyon doon,” Marcos said in an ambush interview in Cavite.
(If that is what PRRD wants, we will not stop him from the ICC. But we will not help. But if he consents to speak or have the ICC investigate him, that is up to him. We have no decision there.)
During the House of Representatives’ public inquiry into the war on drugs on Wednesday, Duterte finally made an appearance after dodging the quad committee’s invitations.
Duterte did as Duterte does: Make wild statements, which he may, or may not own up to later on. One of his proclamations was that he wanted the ICC to investigate him.
For example, Duterte initially denied implementing a reward system for cops who would kill drug suspects. “‘Yang sinasabi nilang reward, walang reward ‘yan. Hindi ako magbibigay ng reward (What they are saying about a reward, there was no reward. I would never give a reward),” Duterte said in October.
Not more than a month later in November, Duterte confirmed to the House Quad panel that there was a reward system.
“Reward? Correct. Very correct. Talagang totoo. At minsan bigyan ko pa ng dagdag (It’s really true. And sometimes I even give additional funds),” Duterte said when asked during the House panel.
Duterte would go on to retract this again in the same hearing.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Philippine National Police have already stated that they would investigate cases of extrajudicial killings (EJK).
Questions to be answered. Marcos, meanwhile, said authorities are still looking for answers on the controversial killings. “Who has been – who is responsible? And we had – some of them – the mothers of some of the victims that were there, and up to now, they have not seen the justice for the murders of their children,” he said.
Marcos was also asked if Duterte’s bold confessions in the congressional drug war hearings have made him reconsider the Philippines’ exit from the ICC. The president, however, skirted the question and instead said his administration is monitoring what Duterte has said in the proceedings.
The DOJ will examine all the comments, statements, testimonies and evidence to see if a case is necessary, added Marcos.
While he emphasized that the government will not work with the ICC, Marcos also retained the Palace’s position that it will uphold Interpol red notices.
When reporters pointed out that reinforcing an Interpol red notice stemming from the ICC case has the same effect as working with the ICC, Marcos said: “We’ll see how far it goes. We’ll see what the ICC does.”
Changing tune
The Palace’s softening stance toward the ICC comes amid a growing spotlight casted on Duterte’s war on drugs. Duterte has been accused of implementing a nationwide reward system for police officials who would kill drug suspects.
While numbers vary, at least 6,000 people were killed during the crackdown on drugs. However, some believe that this number is as high as 30,000.
There is also a growing gap between Marcos and Duterte. While it cannot be definitvely said when things between the two soured, Duterte and his family began a mostly one-sided word war with Marcos earlier in January.
Duterte accused Marcos of using illegal drugs, to which Marcos suggested that Duterte was using too much fentanyl.
Marcos has since largely refrained from directly addressing Duterte’s insults. However, members of the Marcos clan have taken to the president’s defense whenever a Duterte would insult their patriarch, such as his wife First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and son Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos.
The rift between Marcos and Duterte was not helped with Vice President Sara Duterte’s exit from the presidential cabinet in June.
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