THE names “Dela Rosa” and “Aguirre” were mentioned in the redacted Pre-Confirmation Brief submitted by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) dated September 22 and made public on September 23 in relation to the crimes against humanity charges filed against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court.
The first names of Dela Rosa and Aguirre were not mentioned in the 78-page brief, but the document referred to Dela Rosa as the former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Dela Rosa, now a senator, was Duterte’s first PNP chief when he became president in 2016. He served as the chief of the Davao City Police Office from January 2012 to October 2013 under then mayor and now Vice President Sara Duterte and the former president.
The OTP brief stated: “Dela Rosa promised that they would ‘immediately’ implement a ‘scaled up’ version of the Davao model: ‘If someone fights back, they’ll die. If nobody fights back, we’ll make them fight back:’ ‘Produce blood. Instill fear.’”
It added that “on the very same day that Duterte appointed Dela Rosa as PNP chief, Dela Rosa issued a pre-drafted CMC No. 16-2016, formally launching the anti-illegal drugs campaign nationwide in express pursuance of Duterte’s campaign promises.”
It noted that CMC No. 16-2016 set out Project “Double Barrel,” which it said was modelled after Davao City’s policing strategy and directed the “neutralization of illegal drug personalities nationwide.”
It likewise noted that “Dela Rosa told reporters: ‘Killing in the name of drugs. This is really about killing in the name of drugs. So you drug lords out there, get ready because I’ll crush you.”
It also mentioned that a month after his appointment as PNP chief, Dela Rosa supposedly told a crowd of self-confessed drug addicts to “kill drug lords and burn their houses for having made them addicted to shabu (methamphetamine).
The document also mentioned several high-ranking police and government officials but did not identify them by names.
As regards Aguirre, the brief quoted him as saying that the “new administration’s ‘programme’ was ‘to do everything to stop drugs, crimes, and corruption’ — ‘we will choose to kill these drug lords’.”
It, however, did not mention Aguirre’s first name.
Lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre was Duterte’s first secretary of the Department of Justice.
Last year, the OTP tagged Dela Rosa and four other retired and current police officers as “suspects” for alleged involvement in the deaths of thousands of people in Duterte’s drug war.
INTERIM RELEASE
Meanwhile, the ICC has sought inputs from both Duterte camp’s prospective host state and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the defense camp’s request for interim release from detention of the 80-year-old former president, who is facing crimes against humanity before the tribunal.
“Given that Mr. Duterte seeks interim release to (redacted), the Chamber invites the latter to submit any observation it considers relevant to the Chamber’s adjudication of the Interim Release request, and in particular, as to its willingness and ability to receive Mr. Duterte on its territory for the purpose of interim release, if ordered; enforce one or more conditions restricting liberty that the Chamber could potentially impose, including those set out in Rule 119 (1) of the Rules; and facilitate the possibility of Mr. Duterte travelling between (redacted) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the purpose of the proceedings in the present case,” said part of the 5-page redacted order of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) 1 headed by Presiding Judge Julia Antoanella Motoc.
The PTC 1 is handling Duterte’s crimes against humanity charges.
The order likewise noted that on May 25 the defense also sent a “request for cooperation” to the government of the Netherlands requesting their advance agreement to receive Duterte for the term of any interim release ordered by the PTC.
In relation to this, the Chamber also asked the Kingdom of the Netherlands to submit any observations that it considers relevant to the Chamber’s adjudication of the interim release plea, including as to its “willingness and ability to receive Duterte on its territory for the purpose of interim release, if ordered, and enforce one or more conditions restricting liberty that the Chamber could potentially enforce.”
It also asked the Kingdom of the Netherlands to state its willingness to “facilitate the possibility of Duterte travelling between (redacted) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” as well as the “possibility of Mr. Duterte temporarily residing in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for the purpose of the proceedings in the present case.”
Vice President Sara Duterte has said another country has agreed to host her father should his request for interim release be granted by the ICC.
“One country has already said it’s okay for former president Rodrigo Duterte to be placed there,” she said during a recent gathering of members of the Filipino community in Tokyo, Japan.
While she did not specifically say which country agreed to host her father, she said negotiations with the third host country took some time.
Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman has appealed to the Marcos administration to let Duterte return home and face whatever charges in the country instead of in the ICC, as he claimed that his medical situation has been “progressively deteriorating,” and that the former president is not fit to stand trial.
On Tuesday, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) disclosed the summary and details of its charges against Duterte, including 49 murder and attempted murder cases involving 78 victims.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Malacañang would respect the ICC’s decision on Duterte’s interim release application.
“Looks like (Vice President Sara Duterte’s) frequent travels have paid off. So, if that’s good news for them, and whatever the ICC’s decision is, the Marcos government will accept it,” Castro said in Filipino, referring to the Vice President’s statement that a third country has agreed to host her father if he is released by the ICC. – With Jocelyn Reyes
