Aguirre on inclusion in ICC complaint: Amusing, baseless

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Thursday laughed off his inclusion in the "baseless" complaint filed by the lawyer of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato over President Rodrigo Duterte's war on illegal drugs before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Filed by lawyer Jude Sabio, the complaint for crimes against humanity called out Aguirre for his public statement on February 1 that drug users are not humans, thus "contributing to the commission of the crime in any other way with the conscious aim of furthering the criminal purpose or activity of the death squads."

Also charged with Aguirre were Duterte, Solicitor General Jose Calida and eight other government officials.

"My inclusion, as a respondent, in the communication filed by Atty. Sabio before the ICC is equally amusing and baseless," Aguirre said in a statement.

Fishing expedition

"The camp of Matobato and Sabio apparently threw a net in the sea with this case and want to see how many fishes they can catch before the ICC. Sorry to disappoint them this early, they will catch none. Their case is substantially and procedurally infirm and bereft of merit," he added.

He also claimed that he never said that drug lords are not humans.

"I was deliberately misquoted. What I said is that drug lords are not humanity. I even clarified this during my confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments that what I meant was that drug lords cannot be equated with humanity," Aguirre said.

"I was confirmed right? And I still maintain that stance even today. Anybody who deliberately profits from the sale of illegal drugs which destroy the lives, the future and the families of their buyers cannot really be equated with humanity," he added.

Aguirre said Matobato, who implicated Duterte in the killings of suspected criminals while the President was still Davao City mayor, was a "polluted source."

"Does anybody, in their right mind, still believe Matobato?” he said.

Aguirre vs. Sabio

Aguirre also criticized the professional record of Sabio, who according to him was sanctioned by the Supreme Court in 2008 for filing a groundless bribery charge against retired Laguna judge Alden Cervantes.

"Apparently, even after being fined P5,000 and being warned by the [Supreme Court] that a repetition of the same or similar questioned act will be dealt with more severely, Atty. Sabio has shown that no lessons were learned by him. He has allowed himself to be used, for what reason or purpose, we can only surmise," he said.

The Cabinet official said the complaint was nothing but part of destabilization efforts against the Duterte administration, adding Matobato and Sabio "will not be so brazen in their actions if there is no one holding the strings, purse strings included, behind the scenes."

"Ask them who is paying for their expenses in going to the ICC? Are these funders public officials at present? If yes, are they using the public funds of their offices to undermine the government? If yes, they should be investigated and be made accountable. If, on the other hand, the funding is private, then it is still an act of destabilization," he said.

"These destabilizers do not want the Filipino people to have a drug free future. They hate it when the greater majority of our countrymen benefit from the many gains of the Duterte administration. To them and their kind, I say, bring it on!" —KBK, GMA News