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House QuadComm won't cooperate with ICC in EJKs probe involving Duterte
The lead chairperson of the House Quad Committee on Monday said they will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in case it requests for evidence on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) gathered during the QuadComm’s hearings.
“No, we're not cooperating, we're not coordinating, and we're not giving any information that was elicited from the QuadComm hearings. Because we are not a member of the ICC, therefore we're not obliged,” House QuadComm lead chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Barbers told reporters in a phone patch interview.
But Barbers said their hearings can be accessed by the public on social media.
“Well, if they can access the records in the social media platforms, let them do it that way. But asking the participation of the QuadComm, I'm sorry but we cannot because we are not a member of the ICC,” Barbers reiterated.
When asked what the QuadComm will do if the ICC issues a subpoena for said evidence, Barbers replied, “We cannot be subjected to a subpoena. Maybe they can coordinate with the national government, perhaps with our DOJ [Department of Justice]. Kasi all these records are already public because these are all recorded in all the social media platforms.”
Barbers added that so far, there have been no official communication from the ICC with the QuadComm.
However, it withdrew from the ICC in 2018. The withdrawal took effect in March 2019.
The ICC has been investigating former president Rodrigo Duterte and other top officials of his administration for crimes against humanity over the alleged systematic drug war deaths or EJKs in police operations during his term.
These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths were as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings.
Duterte was arrested on Tuesday upon his arrival in Manila from Hong Kong after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against him.
He has since been detained at the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison and attended the ICC's pre-trial hearing via video link on Friday.
The next hearing on the confirmation of the charges has been set for Sept. 23, 2025. —KG, GMA Integrated News
