LAST WEEK former senator Antonio Trillanes presented a document purportedly issued by the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court that names five people as “suspects” in its ongoing investigation of the war on drugs implemented by the Duterte administration.
First in the list is Sen. Bato dela Rosa who bucked seniority and became Director General of the Philippine National Police when Rodrigo Duterte assumed power in 2016. Also in the list is Oscar Albayalde who succeeded dela Rosa at the PNP.
Completing the list are Major General Romeo Caramat Jr., a former head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Edilberto Leonardo of the National Police Commission, and Eleazar Matta of the PNP Intelligence Office.
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The ICC document describes Leonardo as a “former Commissioner” of Napolcom. Its website however indicates that he is an incumbent Commissioner.
Trillanes alleges that witnesses have identified Leonardo as the “paymaster” who disbursed ten thousand pesos for every person killed in ground operations of the PNP in the implementation of the drug war.
Reports narrate that Leonardo served the PNP until his retirement in September 2020. He was apparently well connected with the Duterte administration as he was quickly appointed Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
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In March 2022, when the Duterte government was about to exit, Leonardo was appointed to occupy the seat vacated by Napolcom commissioner Felizardo Serapio. It was then Napolcom Executive Officer Vitaliano Aguirre II, erstwhile Secretary of Justice, who announced Leonardo’s appointment.
Is the ICC Prosecutor looking in the right direction?
A person becomes a suspect in an ICC investigation when there are grounds to believe that he has committed a crime within its jurisdiction. A suspect will be questioned either by the prosecutor or by national authorities pursuant to a request made by the ICC.
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Among the powers of Napolcom under Republic Act No. 8551 is to monitor and investigate police anomalies and irregularities. It resolves appeals on decisions involving administrative cases against policemen.
The same law provides that a Napolcom Commissioner has a fixed term of six years.
The ICC diplomatic document has been formally transmitted to the Philippine government through its embassy at the Hague. Will government cooperate or will it ignore the transmission?
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Commissioner Leonardo is a suspect in a very serious crime of concern to the international community. Will he be able to faithfully discharge his functions when the ICC prosecution itself has found sufficient basis to question him for allegedly committing crimes against humanity?
There is little cause for wonder that the ICC has authorized an investigation into the Duterte war on drugs despite the complementarity principle. One of its suspected implementors is highly and deeply entrenched in the police organization.
Another suspect, Gen. Caramat, was Bulacan PNP provincial police director in 2017 when 67 police operations were simultaneously conducted in one day – netting 32 deaths to recover more or less 200 grams of shabu. He is currently police commander of Northern Luzon.
These officers will have to prepare for their defense at the expense of fruitful contributions while they remain in the service./PN
