On Thursday, former senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes posted a three-page document highlighting the now primary suspects in the International Criminal Court (ICC) case against former president Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs campaign.
Trillanes captioned his post on X (formerly Twitter), naming the following four active and former officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP). The people named were former persons of interest, along with Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, during the initial filing of the case.
However, the document from the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) revealed that an additional four ex-PNP officials are under suspicion for their involvement in the committed crimes.
Named suspects in the ICC case, including Senator Dela Rosa, were: Oscar Albayalde, former PNP Chief and retired member; Romeo Caramat Jr., former Chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and current Acting Area Commander of Northern Luzon; Edilberto Leonardo, former Commissioner of the National Police Commission (NaPolCom); and Eleazar Mata, former PNP Chief Intelligence Officer.
The ICC probe initially began on September 15, 2021, after the ICC Prosecutor was granted authorization to commence an investigation into the drug war killings.
Duterte’s War on Drugs Campaign happened between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, wherein a large number of suspected drug offenders were unjustly killed by members of the PNP. It was enforced as part of the policy on eliminating drug users and suppliers in the country.
Now, the OTP is currently focused on investigating the widespread and systematic killings of the individuals at the height of the campaign, between 2011 and 2019. The office is obliged to conduct investigations that cover all the facts and evidence, which includes giving individuals under suspicion of crimes a chance to testify against their alleged crimes.
