CHIEF Presidential Legal Counsel shrugged off Friday the possible filing of criminal complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking to reporters, Salvador Panelo was confident that the case that will be filed against the President by the camp of self-confessed hitman Edgar Matobato will not flourish because there is "no basis" that Duterte, a former Davao City mayor, had ordered the numerous killings in the city.
“That (accusation) is just an imagination. We will respond when the case is filed. That is merely a propaganda,” Panelo said.
“Perhaps, it (the criminal complaint) will not be entertained because there is no basis. Of course, if you file, you should have evidence, you should have document. What is your proof [for saying he’s involved in the killings in Davao City]?” he added.
Matobato, who appeared at the Senate inquiry into the extrajudicial killings in the country, had linked the President to the vigilante group Davao Death Squad and accused him of ordering the killings of criminals and his opponents in Davao City when he was still mayor.
Duterte had admitted that there were thousands of individuals killed in Davao City during his stint as mayor but denied that he was behind it.
Matobato's lawyer Jude Sabio is expected to fly to The Hague, Netherlands, to file the case before the international court.
Panelo was unfazed by Sabio's filing of case, saying it is only part of the plan of Duterte's opponents to damage his reputation.
“They will not stop. The critics of the President will not stop from making any move that will discredit him. That’s for sure. It’s really their job to discredit the President,” Panelo said.
“For as long as the President’s popularity is still up there, for as long as he follows the Constitution, I don’t think there is anything to worry about. And he does follow the Constitution. He’s very strict. As I said, even strict against his own self and his children,” he added. (VoxPop Philippines)
