By Erika Mae P. Sinaking
THE International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent release of a less redacted charge sheet has intensified scrutiny on two sitting Philippine senators over their alleged involvement in the country’s anti-drug campaign, analysts said over the weekend.
Kristina C. Conti, ICC assistant to counsel for the victims, told BusinessWorld via Viber that the disclosure increases pressure on Senators Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” T. Go to clear their names.
“They could either play to the public and the media or cooperate with the court,” she said.
The senators, along with six others, are named in the ICC filing as co-perpetrators in crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the administration of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte. The Office of the Prosecutor recently uploaded a less redacted version of the document containing the charges, similar to an “information” under Philippine law, revealing for the first time significant details and naming alleged co-perpetrators from Davao-based police units and close associates.
The charge sheet alleges that Mr. Duterte and his associates shared a “common plan or agreement to neutralize alleged criminals” through violent means, including murder.
Ms. Conti said the decision to release the names ahead of the confirmation of charge hearing on Feb. 23 was likely strategic. She noted that discussions of Mr. Duterte’s role would be “impossible to describe without mentioning his co-perpetrators.”
The filing also suggests the existence of a structured plan to implement the anti-narcotics campaign while ensuring impunity through the involvement of investigative units, according to Ms. Conti.
Ephraim B. Cortez, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, said the revelations were expected. “We were not surprised. These are the architects and implementers of Duterte’s drug war,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber chat.
“This will greatly impact accountability because the ones prosecuted are not the ordinary policemen who carried out orders, but the policymakers, implementers, and those who issued the orders,” he said. “They are the ones most responsible.”
Mr. Go denied the allegations in a statement on Saturday, describing them as “entirely unfounded” and unrelated to his previous roles as special assistant to the President and executive assistant to the mayor of Davao City.
Israelito P. Torreon, a lawyer for Mr. Dela Rosa, said the disclosure is procedural and does not equate to a finding of guilt.
“International criminal proceedings, by their nature, evolve in stages, and public disclosures are often strategic and procedural rather than definitive findings of liability,” he said via Viber. “It is important to emphasize that any naming of individuals in the course of ICC proceedings does not amount to a finding of guilt.”
ICC prosecutors said Mr. Duterte is criminally responsible for three counts of crimes against humanity, including at least 76 murders. These include 19 killings while he was mayor of Davao City, 14 murders of so-called high-value targets, and 43 killings of lower-level drug suspects nationwide from 2016 to 2018.
Vitaliano N. Aguirre II, listed as a co-perpetrator, denied participation in or support for extrajudicial killings during his tenure as Justice secretary from 2016 to 2018.
Mr. Cortez said Senators Dela Rosa and Go “played a key role in systematizing the policy and implementing it, while Aguirre was complicit, and police generals were the implementers.”
There are concerns that the senators may use political influence or seek sanctuary within the Senate to avoid potential arrest.
“Bato and Bong Go will definitely use their influence and resources to evade arrest,” Mr. Cortez said. “Seeking sanctuary with the Senate is a possibility, as floated earlier when news of a warrant of arrest against Bato surfaced.”
He added that the senators are likely to pursue judicial remedies to prevent the Philippine government from surrendering them to the ICC, as it did with Mr. Duterte.
