Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra recommended that the findings of the House Quad Committee on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs be submitted to executive agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Office of the Ombudsman for investigation and prosecution, instead of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Guevarra explained that the DOJ and the Ombudsman are mandated to investigate congressional committee findings related to criminal matters, with the Office of the Solicitor General (SolGen) only stepping in later.
His statement came after former Congressman and current lawyer for extrajudicial killings (EJK) victims, Atty. Neri Colmenares, suggested turning over the testimonies of Ret. PCol. Royina Garma and self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa to the ICC to ensure the prosecution of former President Rodrigo Duterte and former PNP Chief, now Senator Bato Dela Rosa, regarding the deadly drug war that allegedly resulted in 30,000 deaths, according to human rights groups.
However, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin reaffirmed that the Philippines will not return to the ICC, despite calls for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to submit the House Quad Committee’s findings to the international body.