The Senate will not hesitate to provide an official transcript of the recently-conducted Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigation into the drug war killings during the Duterte administration as long as the request for this has a “valid reason.”
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero made the remark Monday when asked if the Senate will certify an official transcript of the hearing for its use in the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Kung may mag-request na valid ang rason para i-request, hindi mag-aatubili ang Senado na mag-certify ng kopya ng transcript ng hearing na isinagawa kaugnay sa EJKs (extrajudicial killings). Pero siyempre, hindi naman puwede kung sino-sino lang, basta-basta nang walang dahilan at rason,” Escudero said in an ambush interview.
(If there is someone who has a valid reason to request for the transcript, the Senate will not hesitate to certify a copy of the transcript from the hearing that was conducted in relation to the EJKs. But of course, we will not give it to just anyone.)
Last week, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said on X that the transcripts of the Senate probe on Duterte’s drug war were already transmitted to the ICC.
This, after Duterte faced the Senate probe on the drug war and admitted to having a ‘death squad,’ among other revelations.
Duterte has declined to comment on Trillanes’ move.
Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and say that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings.
During Duterte’s term in 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal started a probe into his drug war.
To recall, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in January 2023 authorized the reopening of an inquiry into Duterte’s war on drugs.
The ICC Appeals Chamber in July 2023 also denied the government’s plea against the resumption of the inquiry, prompting numerous government officials to speak against continued engagement with the ICC. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
Be the first to comment