Metro Manila, Philippines – The intelligence chief and a lawmaker denied claims linking them in efforts to persuade former high-ranking police officials to testify in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) drug war probe.
The disclosure of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa based on what he said was “very, very reliable information” was the latest in a series of exchanges on the progress of investigation on the bloody campaign of the Duterte administration.
In an interview with reporters earlier this week, Dela Rosa identified National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Ricardo de Leon, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Zaldy Co, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as those who met with former police officials in separate instances “to convince them to execute an affidavit implicating President [Rodrigo] Duterte and me to the ICC.”
The police officials Dela Rosa referred to are also under investigation by the ICC, such as former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Oscar Albayalde, former PNP Chief Intelligence Officer Eleazar Mata, former National Police Commission head Edilberto Leonardo, and PMGen Romeo Caramat Jr., who previously led the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
In separate statements on Thursday, De Leon and Co admitted to meeting with Caramat for a different reason.
De Leon said he accompanied Caramat to meet with Romualdez “because he wanted to express his interest to be appointed the next PNP chief.”
“During our conversation, he (Caramat) offered to disclose everything he knew about extrajudicial killings (EJK) and the drug war, including the list of names targeted for killing, weekly quotas, and the payment process involved in exchange for the top PNP post,” De Leon said.
Co said he first met Caramat in 2023 when the police official sought his endorsement. Their next meeting was with Romualdez a few months ago.
“From the conversation, I heard that he (Gen. Caramat) was willing to tell everything he knows about EJKs in exchange for his appointment as Chief PNP,” Co said.
According to their statements, Romualdez told Caramat he is not in the position to appoint the next top cop, a post now held by PGen Rommel Marbil.
Co said “there was never any mention of testifying against anyone before the ICC.” He added that he never met Albayalde, Leonardo and Mata. De Leon said he also never discussed the issue with police officials.
Only Co and De Leon have spoken up on the issue so far.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, carried out by his first PNP chief, Dela Rosa, and other police officials, is under investigation by the ICC for alleged extrajudicial killings.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Philippines, but Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla said the government will not obstruct the ICC if it decides to issue arrest warrants.
