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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Duterte's refusal to face ICC will deprive him of chance to defend self—Drilon

Duterte's refusal to face ICC will deprive him of chance to defend self—Drilon

Published Jun 16, 2021 11:09 am

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday expressed the belief that President Duterte’s legal advisers are now at a crossroads over his refusal to face the International Criminal Court (ICC) over allegations of crimes against humanity in connection to his administration’s war on drugs.

Drilon said that while it may be easy for the President to say that he refuses to recognize the international court’s jurisdiction, the non-recognition would not result in ICC stopping its investigation.

“If it proceeds with the investigation, what will the President do? Will he appear and defend himself—which is the logical thing to do?” Drilon said in an interview on ANC’s Headstart.

“Or there is also a situation where he said, I will not recognize the ICC,” he noted.

Because of this, Drilon said he believes the President’s legal advisers are now in a quandary.

“The legal advisers of the President must be in a quandary. They are at a crossroads...they can say we will not recognize that and we will not attend. That may possibly result in the presentation of evidence without the presence of the President’s counsel,” he said.

Drilon, a former justice secretary, stressed the President would not be able to defend himself from the charges when he refuses to cooperate.

“On the other hand, they (Duterte’s lawyers) must assess this versus representing the President in the preliminary investigation and convince the court that there is no basis to proceed with the formal investigation,” he pointed out.

“This is not an easy situation. I would repeat, the President’s lawyers are at a crossroads because if this continues, who will defend the President during the presentation of the evidence?” the minority leader stressed.

That is why, he said, he believes it is to the best interest of Duterte to face the ICC to defend himself from the allegations linked to the drug war.

Drilon reiterated the President’s refusal to recognize the ICC would not stop it from proceeding with its investigation.

“I do not want to pass judgment on the sufficiency of the evidence. The President does not recognize the ICC for the reason that we have already withdrawn from the Rome Statute,” he stressed.

“However, the ICC prosecutor has already ruled that notwithstanding this withdrawal, they can proceed with the investigation,” he added.

Related Tags

EJK Franklin Drilon International Criminal Court (ICC) DUTERTE
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