Arrest, maybe

One thing is certain: the UniTeam of 2022 faces irreconcilable differences.

All that’s needed is for the split of the Bongbong Marcos-Sara Duterte tandem to be formalized. As I have written, it looks like the Vice President is staying on as secretary of education simply because both she and President Marcos are keeping friends close and enemies closer.

Less certain is whether the VP and her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, will be handed over by the Marcos 2.0 administration to the International Criminal Court.

ICC probers, as disclosed by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV and confirmed by Duterte’s former spokesman Harry Roque, were allowed to enter the country late last year, with the knowledge of the Bureau of Immigration (according to Roque). The BI is an executive agency under the Department of Justice.

“Nagpakilala silang mga imbestigador” – they even introduced themselves as ICC probers, and yet they were allowed to enter the country, Roque told One News’ “Storycon” last Friday.

Surely the government knew that the ICC probers weren’t in the country for tourism, he said: “Hindi naman para mag-swimming sa Boracay.”

The government has yet to react to Roque’s allegations.

While dismissing Trillanes as a KSP (kulang sa pansin or needing attention), there’s talk that the Duterte camp suspects the former senator identified with the traditional opposition of now working with the Marcos administration.

In a previous episode of Storycon, Trillanes admitted being on friendly terms with BBM, having been former colleagues in the Senate and Nacionalista party mates. Trillanes has not ruled out the possibility that the administration at the very least will not work against him in his bid for the post of Caloocan mayor in 2025.

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BBM’s avowed policy is non-cooperation with the ICC in its investigation of the bloody campaign against illegal drugs when Rodrigo Duterte was president and earlier, when he and his daughter Sara alternated as mayor of Davao City.

Considering the entry of ICC probers and other developments last year, however, Roque must be speaking for the Duterte camp in insisting that the Marcos administration should put its policy on the ICC in writing.

If it’s verbal, Roque points out, it can be changed verbally.

Somewhat like the “gentleman’s agreement” on the West Philippine Sea that Duterte supposedly forged during his presidency with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Whether or not there was such an agreement, according to BBM, he was rescinding it. BBM’s pivot back to the US and reversal of Duterte’s embrace of Beijing is another sore point between the two camps.

In the case of cooperation with the ICC, Marcos 2.0 may be genuinely against a formal investigation being conducted in the country, which Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has described as an insult to the nation’s sovereignty and the justice system whose pillars remain functional.

But even if the government wanted to, it can’t stop the ICC from getting in touch with witnesses, victims’ relatives and possibly even direct participants in the drug war. Digital technology facilitates such contacts and submission of testimonies and material evidence.

The Duterte camp may understand if the ICC obtained such testimonies via Zoom or WhatsApp. Trillanes said he helped facilitate contacts between the ICC and personalities in the drug war, although he did not specify the mode of contact.

What rankles the Duterte camp is that ICC probers were actually allowed to enter the country, supposedly with the knowledge of the government.

Roque told Storycon that apart from the BI knowing about the entry and departure of the probers, a “high-level government official” even met with the ICC team.

He would not identify the “high-level” official, but said the person has “the second highest government salaried classification – one notch lower than the salary grade of the President.”

Those with the second highest salary grade classification, below the president, are the VP, the Senate president, House speaker and chief justice.

Roque said the probers entered the country shortly after the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for cooperation with the ICC. It was also in November when Marcos said the possibility of the country rejoining the ICC was “under study.”

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For a while, Roque had dismissed as mere intrigue reports of a rift between BBM and VP Sara. But now Roque confirms the split in the UniTeam. And he blames this on BBM’s flip-flopping on the ICC issue.

“Let’s just say the balentong of the President on the ICC... is very much responsible for the state of the UniTeam now. Had it not been for this flipping of position on the ICC, we probably would still have a UniTeam to speak of,” Roque said. “This actually marked the beginning of the end of UniTeam – when the secretary of justice made that (180)-degree turn on the issue of cooperation... after that, the refusal to reduce in writing the non-cooperation with ICC has further worsened the relationship.”

The Duterte camp has said the ICC issue is raised each time the matter of BBM’s supposed drug abuse crops up. Rodrigo Duterte’s description of BBM as bangag drew stinging comments from First Lady Liza Marcos, who disclosed in an interview that VP Sara had become “bad shot” or had fallen out of her favor.

People have wondered if VP Sara shared the sentiments of her father and brothers, who are also calling for BBM’s ouster and are now seen as the “major” opposition.

Roque said the VP remains part of the Marcos administration, but added: “What I can confirm is that the Dutertes are now one politically. They are united politically now.”

Trillanes told Storycon that the ICC arrest warrants would be issued in batches. The first, expected in June or July, will cover only Rodrigo Duterte. The next batches, to include the VP and other personalities including Sen. Ronald dela Rosa and Digong’s super alalay Sen. Bong Go, will be issued later.

Roque says he sees no risk that the Dutertes “will be brought to The Hague at all.”

If the ICC is allowed to enter the Philippines and conduct a probe without a formal green light from the government, will Marcos 2.0 also hand over the Dutertes and the other personalities in the drug war to the ICC without being seen as directly responsible for it? There are indications that this is also under study.

The ICC can issue the arrest warrants as it pleases. Whether these will be served in the Philippines is – borrowing a word from President Marcos – complicated.