Administration Sen. Francis Tolentino aired “some doubts” over the credibility of a retired International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor pressing for a full investigation into President Duterte’s deadly war on drugs amid mounting body counts.
“I still have some doubts as to the official credibility of the former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s ICC recommendations announced hours before she retired from the ICC last Tuesday [June 15],” Tolentino said.
Malacañang, meanwhile, said President Duterte is now confident that the ICC will junk the request seeking for an investigation against him.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said this was the reaction of the President after reviewing the 52-page opinion of ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, which relies heavily on media reports that are widely considered as “hearsay evidence.”
“You know, he [President Duterte] shrugged [it]off. The opinion, after checking the sources, [which are] media sources,” Roque said.
“Lawyers know that you cannot start any proceedings on the basis of hearsay evidence,” he added.
Roque said he shared the assessment of the President on the opinion and apologized for his uncalled for “emotional outburst” last Tuesday, where he slammed Bensouda for pursuing her investigation on the government’s alleged killing of drug suspects.
He said the opinion would not likely get pass the “confirmation of charges” stage before the ICC.
Instead of focusing on Bensouda’s case, he said, the government through the Department of Justice (DOJ) will not just focus on investigating the alleged killings perpetrated by police in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
In a Viber message, Tolentino suggested “we should note that previously Madame Bensouda was included in the Specifically Designated National [SDN] list of the US government under President Trump.”
Moreover, Tolentino reminded that “Bensouda, as a designated terrorist, was considered as a threat to US national security and foreign and economic policies and, though a former bank manager, her financial transactions and those dealing with her were blocked by the US Treasury.”
“How can she, during her tenure, objectively conduct an investigation when some members of the international community considered her as persona non grata for terrorist links?” Tolentino asked.
He added: “A lot of questions will have to be answered first whether a retired prosecutor can still recommend the prosecution of a head of state of a non-Treaty of Rome signatory.”
Roque added: “We will file charges and punish those who are guilty of murder. And the President has also repeated he will support the police if what they did is legal. But if it is illegal, they will not get his support.”
In a related development, Roque confirmed he was nominated to become a member of the International Law Commission with the approval of Duterte.
He noted that even if he accepted in the commission, it does not bar him from possibly running in the 2022 national and local elections.
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