Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) — A lawmaker who filed a resolution calling on the Marcos administration to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation on the war on drugs called on Vice President Sara Duterte to attend a House hearing on the issue.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro said the hearing of the House committees on justice and human rights on Wednesday is the proper venue for Duterte to express her opposition to the proposal.
Castro issued the statement Tuesday in response to the vice president’s remark that her office is reaching out to the Department of Justice (DOJ) about her position on the ICC probe.
The vice president’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is part of the ICC investigation.
“Suggestion ko sa kanya kung gusto niyang mag-intervene dito at gusto niya pumaloob sa hearing ay she might as well submit her position paper as a person or as a vice president,” Castro said.
“Pero as vice president dapat maging modelo din siya sa pagsunod dun sa naging desisyon ng Supreme Court. No less than the SC said that we should cooperate, so the Philippines should cooperate sa ano mang magiging hearing or activity ng ICC dito,” she said.
[Translation: My suggestion is if she wants to intervene in the issue, she might as well submit her position paper to the hearing as a resource person or as a vice president. As the vice president, she should be a role model when it comes to following the Supreme Court decision. SC said we should cooperate, so we should cooperate with ICC in their activities in the country.]
Duterte on Monday said the Office of the Vice President will lay down to the DOJ the legal basis for its position on the probe.
Three resolutions in the House and one in the Senate call on the government to cooperate with the investigation.
Castro opposed the claim of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa — who is an accused as the chief of the Philippine National Police during the Duterte administration — that the resolutions were being “weaponized” against the Dutertes.
She said a thorough investigation into the killings related to the drug war is long overdue, and could only happen now that Duterte is no longer president.
“Sa bahagi namin ng Makabayan hindi namin ito ginagamit against sa mga Duterte. Ang resolution namin ay para bigyan ng hustisya, resolution namin para mag-imbestiga ‘yung ICC dito ay para makamit na ‘yung long overdue na justice ng mga biktima at mga pamilya ng EJKs (extrajudicial killings) due sa war on drugs ni Duterte,” she said.
[Translation: The Makabayan bloc is not using this against the Dutertes. We filed the resolution to seek for justice, for ICC to investigate here so the victims of the war on drugs can attain long overdue justice.]
