Ex-Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte is ready to face all the cases that will be charged against him by the families of war on drugs victims.
“Haharapin po nila kayo, haharapin po kayo ni [ex] presidente Duterte sa harap ng Pilipinong piskal, sa harap ng isang hukuman na Pilipino, at kung siya ay mapapatunayan na nagkakasala ay magpapakulong siya sa isang Pilipinong kulungan,” he said during DZRH’s Damdaming Bayan on August 2.
However, Roque emphasized that Duterte will not face cases charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He claimed that ICC’s investigation of the drug war cases will interfere with the sovereignty of the Philippines.
Roque said the local justice system in the country is working properly and claimed that he can attest to it as a lawyer who convicted big criminals like the Ampatuan clan and US Soldier Joseph Pemberton.
The ex-presidential spox added that there is no reason to bring the crimes in the Philippines to the foreign court.
“Kayang kaya po iyan ng Pilipinong hukom,” he stressed out.
But if the ICC will insist on the investigation and issue a warrant of arrest, Roque said Duterte will request an injunction from the Supreme Court.
“Kung talagang magpipilit ang ICC sa kanilang imbestigasyon at sakaling mag issue ng warrant of arrest [vs. dating Pang. Duterte] at hingin sa kapulisan sa Pilipinas na i-enforce ang kaniyang warrant of arrest, pupunta po siya sa Supreme Court (SC) sa Pilipino para sa injunction dahil isang paglabag po 'yan sa soberanya,” he said.
Roque said by the time it will happen, they are confident that the Supreme Court will issue a restraining order against the Philippine National Police (PNP) so that the warrant of arrest against Duterte will not be served.
He reiterates that Duterte will only show up to the cases filed in the Philippine courts and not the foreign court.
The ex-presidential spox agreed to the decision of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday to not join the ICC.
“Ngayon nakikita po natin ang galaw ng ICC ay parang Court of First Instance, parang binabalewala na ng ICC ang lokal na hukuman. Tama ang desisyon na hindi na po sumapi. Ganyan din ang posisyon ng China, US at Russia,” he said.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported last October 2021 that 6,201 died during the anti-drugs operations and 311,686 were arrested.
