Ex-President Duterte unfazed by ICC issue – Sen. Bong Go

Former President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo from the Facebook account of Sen. Christopher Go)

MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte believes that the Philippine government will not cooperate in the International Criminal Court’s (ICC)  investigation of the string of killings supposedly linked to his brutal anti-drug campaign, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go said on Wednesday.

In an ambush interview, Go stressed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. himself had already made a categorical statement that the administration would not cooperate with ICC investigations.

“What I always hear from him is that ICC has no jurisdiction and that he believes that the Philippine government will not cooperate because there’s no jurisdiction. And President Bongbong Marcos has already spoken,” Go, who served as Duterte’s aide when the latter was still in office, said in Filipino.

In the same interview, Go was asked by reporters if there were changes in Duterte’s behavior amid threats that a warrant of arrest will be issued to him “very soon.”

“Nothing changed in his attitude,” Go said.

Duterte is among the individuals mentioned in the crimes against humanity complaint lodged before the ICC.

Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV  earlier claimed that ICC investigators had allegedly gathered sufficient evidence against Duterte.

Days after Trillanes’ claims, retired police officer and confessed former Davao Death Squad hitman Arturo Lascañas disclosed that ICC investigations on Duterte’s bloody anti-drug campaign had already begun.