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Bong Go: Ex-Pres. Duterte must be accorded due respect amid ICC resos
Former President Rodrigo Duterte should be accorded with due respect by the Senate and the House of Representatives should the former chief executive attend congressional hearings on the resolutions urging the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into the drug war, according to Senator Bong Go.
“Ibigay natin sa kanya (let’s give) what is due to our former president dahil nagtrabaho po siya sa ating bayan (because he served our country). Ang sabi ko, Pilipino po dapat ang humusga sa kanya hindi po banyaga. Pilipino po ang dapat humusga (Like what I've said he should be judged by his fellow Filipinos not by foreigners),” Go said in an interview.
According to Go, he has not discussed the ICC resolutions with the former president but said he was talking with Duterte’s legal team.
Asked if Duterte will attend the hearings in the House and in the Senate, Go said “it is up to him” and that the former president is “willing to speak about it.”
“I’m sure he is a lawyer. Alam niya po ang batas, alam niya po ang ginagawa niya (He knows the law and he knows what he is doing),” Go said.
Go served as Duterte’s special assistant when the latter was still in Malacañang.
Meanwhile, Go expressed his support to Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who earlier tagged himself as the “number two accused” in the ICC investigation.
Dela Rosa was the Philippine National Police (PN) chief when Duterte launched his “drug war”.
“Sinusuportahan po namin si Senator Bato bilang ka-partido at kasamahan sa Senado. Naniniwala po ako na ginamapanan lang po ni Senator Bato dela Rosa ang kanyang tungkulin bilang chief PNP nung panahon ni Pangulong Duterte,” he said.
(We support Senator Bato dela Rosa as our partymate and colleague in the Senate. I believe that he was just doing his job as PNP chief during the time of President Duterte.)
On Wednesday, the House Committees on Justice and on Human Rights on Wednesday unanimously adopted three resolutions calling on the Philippine government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation on the Duterte administration's war on drugs that resulted in the deaths of thousands of Filipinos.
Reacting to this, Dela Rosa said in a separate ambush interview that he respects the developments in the House of Representatives.
“Wala akong comment. I observe inter-parliamentary courtesy. Antayin na lang natin kung makalusot sa plenary… Okay lang, walang problema. Trabaho nila yan eh…. May mangyayari ba kung sasama loob ko? Wala namang mangyayari. Ako lang ang matatalo n’yan pag sasama ang puso ko. Baka ‘yung puso ko maapektuhan pa,” Dela Rosa said.
(I have no comment. I observe inter-parliamentary courtesy. Let’s just wait if these will pass in the plenary. I don’t have a problem with it. That’s their job. Will it change anything if I get hurt by these developments? It’s only me who will be affected if I take this personally. It might affect my health.)
A similar resolution was filed by Senator Risa Hontiveros last Monday.
Amid the filing of the House resolutions, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that returning under the fold of the ICC is “under study” — a statement which appears to contradict his earlier pronouncement that he would not cooperate with the international court’s inquiry into the drug war implemented by his predecessor.
While he has since adopted a softer stance on the issue, Marcos pointed out that there are problems with regards to the international tribunal’s jurisdiction over the Philippines.
The ICC Appeals Chamber had denied the Philippine government’s appeal to stop the ICC probe on the drug war, citing the Philippines failed to prove to the ICC that a legitimate investigation on the drug war killings and the prosecution of the perpetrators were being undertaken by Philippine authorities.
The ICC Prosecutor Pre-Trial chamber earlier observed, with regards to the drug war, that “the available material indicates, to the required standard, that a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population took place pursuant to or in furtherance of a State policy, within the meaning of Article 7(1) and (2)(a) of the Statute.”
