Marcos still trusts Guevarra despite stance on Duterte habeas corpus bid

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra —INQUIRER.net file photo

MANILA, Philippines —  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. continues to trust Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra after Guevarra recused himself from representing the government in the habeas corpus petitions filed by the children of former President Rodrigo Duterte, a Palace official said Thursday.

In a briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos did not ask for Guevarra’s resignation following his recusal.

“They talked, and I also spoke with the president about that. He said that his trust in SolGen Menardo Guevarra has not been lost,” Castro said in Filipino.

“When I asked him [Marcos] if the Solicitor General would resign, he said, ‘I’m not asking for his resignation.’ That’s all he said. So, his trust in Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra remains,” she added.

READ: Guevarra should reassess role after Duterte case recusal – Castro

However, during a Palace briefing last Tuesday, Castro noted that Guevarra, justice secretary in the Duterte administration, might need to reassess his role as OSG after stepping back from defending the government in the petition challenging Duterte’s arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC currently has custody of Duterte after he was arrested and sent to The Hague, Netherlands for crimes against humanity he allegedly committed when he was president in his bloody anti-drug campaign.

The campaign left at least 6,000 people dead with other estimates placing the death toll at 30,000.