House of Representatives Quad-Committee | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of the House of Representatives
MANILA, Philippines — Former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio on Wednesday said the televised quad committee hearings could be used by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigation into crimes against humanity allegedly committed by former President Rodrigo Duterte during his administration’s bloody “war on drugs.”
“Well, because the quadcomm [hearings] are televised… televised proceedings can be submitted,” Carpio told reporters in a 1Sambayan press conference in response to a question on whether the committee hearings can be used by the ICC.
“Like before, President Duterte was interviewed and he said ‘I was the one who ordered that.’ That’s an admission, that’s an extrajudicial confession, that’s admissible,” he added.
READ: Drug war findings won’t be given to ICC, but accessible on social media
However, Carpio expressed hope that the submission of the quadcomm investigation to the ICC would be done “officially.”
“I hope that we officially submit the committee transcript and video, I hope that we do that officially,” he said.
Carpio’s pronouncements came after retired police colonel Royina Garma’s recent exposé before the quad committee where she revealed that Duterte offered cash rewards for every drug suspect killed in his administration’s brutal war on drugs.
But despite the bombshell, Malacañang on Monday said that it has no intention to rejoin the ICC even amid calls to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officially submit the House quadcomm investigation findings as part of the international court’s case build-up against Duterte.
READ: ‘No ICC comeback for PH’ despite Garma drug war exposé – Bersamin
During Duterte’s term and the infamous drug war, government records show that at least 6,200 drug suspects have died in legitimate anti-drug operations.
However, many human rights groups claim that the actual number of individuals slain during the drug war can be between 12,000 to 30,000.
A University of the Philippines (UP) study on July 23, 2021, even revealed that the drug war had killed an estimated two people each day.