QuadComm will not share EJK probe transcripts with ICC, says Barbers

The House Quad Committee (QuadComm) is not keen on sharing transcripts of its hearings on the Duterte administration's war on drugs with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"My personal stand on the issue is that, since we are not a member of the ICC and the President has made a clear statement as to his position diyan sa ICC, I will support that position," Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said during the in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum on Wednesday.

"Hindi kami magbibigay ng dokumento o transcript na ginawa ng QuadComm in relation to the EJKs (extrajudicial killings) para magamit ng ICC,” he added.

(We will not share documents or transcripts of QuadComm's hearings on EJKs for the use of the ICC.)

Barbers, who also chairs the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, one of the four committees that compose the QuadComm, noted that the ICC can still access the records of the QuadComm hearings on EJKs online since the proceedings were livestreamed online.

In the same news forum, Barbers also said the QuadComm is eyeing stiffer penalties for perjury to safeguard the committee against witnesses who will give testimonies based on what is convenient rather than the truth.

Retired police officer and former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royina Garma earlier told QuadComm that former President Rodrigo Duterte asked her to look for an officer who would implement the “Davao model” of the war on drugs on a national scale. 

The model supposedly involves P20,000 to P1 million reward for police officials who will successfully kill drug suspects.

According to Garma, the person he recommended to Duterte was Edilberto Leonardo, who recently resigned from his post as commissioner of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM).

Kerwin Espinosa, who faced but was cleared of drug-related charges before, also told the QuadComm that he believes Duterte ordered the killing of his father, Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Albuera, inside a Leyte jail in 2016. 

Lawyer Salvador Panelo, chief presidential legal counsel during the Duterte administration, has denied the existence of a "Davao model," calling it “pure imagination or fertile speculation.”

No return to ICC

Duterte and several other top officials of his administration are being investigated by the ICC in connection with alleged commission of crimes against humanity for systematic drug war deaths in police operations during his tenure. 

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on official police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths could reach as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings inspired by the drug war.

Duterte and his administration's officials have repeatedly denied that killing people at whim is part of the anti-illegal drug campaign. He has also insisted that the Philippines is not under ICC jurisdiction due to Manila's unilateral withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2019.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., through Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, has also said that the Philippines will not be rejoining the ICC even amid revelations in the House QuadComm proceedings.

“The President is not expected to change his mind and now refer the Quad Comm matter to the ICC,” Bersamin had said. 

House Committee on Human Rights chairperson and Manila Representative Benny Abante, for his part, said the Philippines need not return as a member of the ICC for both the Philippine government and the ICC to provide justice to the victims of drug war.

"The President said no [we are not returning to ICC]. We respect the decision of the President for not actually rejoining the ICC because only the President can do that [action],” Abante said in a press conference.

He said even if the Philippines will not rejoin the ICC, the international body "has the right" to conduct its own investigation.

"Siguro okay na 'yun (Maybe that's enough)," Abante said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News