Former Senator Antonio Trillanes delivers a privilege speech during a Senate session in Pasay city. | File photo dated May 27, 2019 taken by EDWIN BACASMAS
MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Antonio Trillanes has reiterated his call to allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to enter the country and start its investigation of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
“We, the Magdalo group, are urging the Marcos administration to allow the ICC investigators into the country in order to make ex-president Rodrigo Duterte accountable for his crimes against humanity,” the Magdalo national chairperson said in a statement which he shared on social media.
The former lawmaker pointed out the former chief executive had supposedly admitted on national television that he had used secret funds in executing persons.
“This is in light of Mr. Duterte’s recent public admission that he used his Confidential/Intelligence funds to conduct extra-judicial killings on his constituents in Davao City when he was still its mayor,” he said.
Trillanes also said his group sent to ICC a video clip of Duterte’s remarks aired on a TV program on Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI).
“This is truly an open-and-shut case,” Trillanes noted.
In the clip, Duterte said he had used intelligence funds and had some people slain.
“Ang intelligence fund, binili ko. Pinapatay ko lahat, kaya gano’n ang Davao,” the former commander in chief said.
(The intelligence fund, I bought it. I had everyone killed. That’s why Davao is like that.)
“Yong mga kasama ninyo, pina-tigok ko talaga. ‘Yon ang totoo,” he added.
(Your peers, I had them killed. That’s the truth.)
President Marcos previously maintained his administration would no longer talk with the ICC.
“So, we continue to defend the sovereignty of the Philippines and continue to question the jurisdiction of the ICC and their investigations here in the Philippines,” the Chief Executive had said.
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