JUSTICE Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the allegations in the communication filed against President Rodrigo Duterte and 11 other government officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC) are "baseless" and are founded only on "hearsay."
"Initially, I found the filing of the case amusing. Not only are the allegations contained therein utterly false, they are purely hearsay," he said in a statement.
Aguirre, a respondent in the communication filed by Jude Sabio, legal counsel of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato, said the case filed against them will not prosper.
"My inclusion, as a respondent, in the communication filed by Atty. Sabio before the ICC is equally amusing and baseless. The camp of Matobato and Sabio apparently threw a net in the sea with this case and want to see how many fishes they can catch before the ICC...Their case is substantially and procedurally infirm and bereft of merit," Aguirre said.
The justice secretary said Matobato and Sabio's camp only seeks to discredit the administration and its all out war against drugs.
"I believe that somebody is behind them because they will not be so brazen in their actions if there is no one holding the strings, purse strings included, behind the scenes," he said.
"Are these funders public officials at present? If yes, are they using the public funds of their offices to undermine the government? If yes, they should be investigated and be made accountable. If, on the other hand, the funding is private, then it is still an act of destabilization," Aguirre said.
Other officials charged before the ICC for crimes against humanity are Solicitor General Jose Calida, Philippine National Police Chief Ronald Dela Rosa, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, former Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno, Police Superintendent Edilberto Leonardo, Senior Police Officer 4 Sanson Buenaventura, Police Supt. Royina Garma, National Bureau of Investigation Chief Dante Gierran, and Senators Richard Gordon and Alan Peter Cayetano.
In his complaint, Sabio asked the ICC to prosecute Duterte over his alleged involvement in the so-called Davao Death Squad, a vigilante group that operated in Davao City when he was mayor.
Sabio also want Duterte to answer for the proliferation of vigilante killings since he assumed office last June 2016.
The lawyer, who also called the president a "mass murderer," has further asked the ICC to look into the situation of summary killings in the country. (SunStar Philippines)