Ni Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — Inihayag ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na aabot sa 177 ang bilang ng mga pulis sa National Capital Region (NCR) na ipinagharap ng mga kasong may kinalaman sa droga noong 2023.

Kabilang sa mga ikinaso ang pagtatanim ng ebidensiya, unlawful arrest at excessive force.

“Alam naman natin na kung minsan, nadadala ang ating mga opisyal at siyempre hindi natin maaaring pabayaan ‘yan. Kaya ang nangyari ay 177 police officers have been charged with drug-related offenses, including the planting of evidence, unlawful arrests, and excessive violence, dito palang sa NCR,” ayon kay Marcos.

Binigyang-diin ng Pangulo na ang laban kontra ilegal na droga ay paiigtingin pa ngayong taon.

Nauna nang sinabi ni Marcos na tutugunan niya ang isyu sa ilegal na droga sa pamamagitan ng treatment at rehabilitation.

Dagdag pa niya, aabot sa 121,582 ang bilang ng mga nakulong dahil sa mga kasong may kinalaman sa droga mula nang magsimula ang kanyang termino noong 2022.

(el Amigo/MNM)

By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla have not yet engaged in discussions regarding the possibility of the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to a ranking Department of Justice (DOJ) official.

“I don’t believe that the Secretary and the President have spoken yet (the ICC return issue). It’s something that is beyond my pay level, so I believe it needs to be discussed between the Secretary and the President,” DOJ Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano said Friday (01 Dec 2023).

“They have discussed many things in the past. However, with the recent news emerging, they haven’t talked about the issue for about a week,” Clavano added.

Earlier, Marcos mentioned that the potential return of the country to the ICC is “under study.”

Resolutions urging the Philippine government to cooperate with the ICC’s investigation into the thousands of killings linked to the war on drugs have been filed by members of the House of Representatives.

In 2019, former President Rodrigo Duterte withdrew the accreditation of the Philippines from the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The ICC is hoping to launch an investigation of FPRRD’s bloody drug war where thousands accordingly perished.

(ai/mnm)