Missionary priest ready to testify against Duterte before ICC

A priest on Thursday said he is not scared to testify against President Rodrigo Duterte should the complaint filed with the International Criminal Court against him progresses.

In statement sent to Church-run Radyo Veritas, "biking priest" Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR, said that he is willing to testify before the ICC, but not at the Senate probe, deeming the chamber's exercise "useless."

"ICC yes. Senate no. it is useless,” Picardal said in his short message regarding his willingness to testify against Duterte.

Duterte's detractors are building up human rights complaints against him due to the killings he allegedly ordered through the so-called "Davao Death Squad" (DDS) when he was still mayor of Davao City, and the supposed extrajudicial killings stemming from his administration's war on drugs.

Earlier, Picardal, who is a member of the Redemptorist religious congregation, said that he is on the hit list of the DDS, claiming that he is under surveillance by motorcycle-riding men, following him at a convent in Cebu where he frequents.

But, in a statement, Malacañang dared Picardal to seek writ of amparo regarding his claim of threat to his life. 

Picardal, who is engaged in various social advocacy efforts,  is also a fierce critic of Duterte.

He is a former executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Basic Ecclesial Communities.

In 2017, lawyer Jude Jose Sabio filed a complaint before the ICC against Duterte and the court is set to open the investigation this September to determine "reasonable basis."

Last February, the ICC initiated a preliminary investigation. The complaint is supposed to proceed to its proper "indictment proceedings" six months after.

Atty. Sabio is the lawyer of Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed member of the DDS, who testified during a senate probe on extra-judicial killings. Earlier, Picardal also conducted his own investigation into the supposed human rights violations of the DDS.

This August, the group Rise Up for Life and Rights, submitted a "crime against humanity" complaint against Duterte before the ICC. —LBG, GMA News