Trillanes calls on ICC: Expedite probe on Duterte

FILE: Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Friday, September 28, called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to fasten their probe on President Rodrigo Duterte after the latter himself publicly admitted that “extrajudicial killings (EJKs)” indeed occurred under his watch.

“That admission will be taken seriously by the international court. And I would like to take this opportunity to call on the International Criminal Court to expedite the investigation of the crimes against humanity committed by Mr. Duterte against the Filipino people,” Trillanes said in a press briefing at the Senate.

Duterte, in a speech during the oath-taking of the new Career Executive Service Officers (CESOs) on Thursday, made an apparent admission that EJKs are his “only sin.” His mouthpiece, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr., however, clarified that the President was “not serious” when he uttered such remarks.

[READ: Duterte admits: Extrajudicial killings are my only sin]

Trillanes did not believe Roque’s explanation, saying that Duterte’s statement was “bits of truth” in his unguarded moments.

“Madalas itong nagsisinungaling pero ‘yung mga ganyang unguarded moments diyan lumalabas ‘yung kanyang saloobin (Duterte often make lies but in his unguarded moments he spills out what he truly feels),” he said.

According to the senator, they will be submitting this additional evidence to the ICC.

“Simula kagabi pinakuha na namin. Pina-transcribe na namin, pina-download na namin ‘yung video at isa-submit namin ito as soon as ma-prepare namin ‘yung documents (We obtained evidence since last night. We transcribed it, downloaded the video and we will submit it as soon as we are able to prepare the documents),” Trillanes said.

“Hindi po huminto ‘yung pagsubmit namin ng documents and information sa ICC, tuloy tuloy po ‘yun. Ito ang latest na idadagdag namin. Hopefully this will be the clincher kasi pinadali niya [Duterte] ang lahat (We did not stop submitting documents and information to ICC, it is continuous. This is the latest evidence that we will add up. Hopefully this will be the clincher because Duterte makes everything easier),” he added.

Lawyer Jacqueline de Guia, Spokesperson of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), also said the President’s remarks should be taken seriously as it tackles about the killings of several Filipinos.

“Sagrado ang buhay. Hindi ito dapat pinaglalaruan. Hindi rin tama na gawing paksa ng biro ang pagkamatay ng libu-libong Pilipino na patuloy na humihingi ng hustisya (Life is sacred. It should not be played with. It is also not right to make the death of thousands of Filipinos still seeking for justice the subject of one’s joke),” de Guia said in a statement.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), on the other hand, said the Philippine leader’s admission will help the ICC speed up its preliminary examination of complaints filed against Duterte.

“This admission should erase any doubt about the culpability of the President,” the HRW said.

“It is time for Duterte to answer for what may amount to crimes against humanity, especially because the killings continue to happen on a daily basis, more than two years since the brutal campaign started the day Duterte took office on June 30, 2016,” it added.