Panayam kay Menardo Guevarra, Solicitor General (October 16, 2024) | Balitanghali
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NewsTranscript
00:00According to the investigation of the House Squad Committee on War on Drugs by the Duterte Administration, we will talk to Solicitor General Menardo Guevara.
00:08Good morning and welcome to Balitang Hali.
00:13Good morning Raffy and to all the listeners of your program.
00:17What is your reaction to the investigation of the House Squad Committee on War on Drugs by the Administration and the revelations that are coming out of this?
00:26Raffy, you know it's a very good thing that this Quadcom hearings and investigation happened because they're doing precisely what the ICC prosecutor intended to do if they will conduct an investigation here.
00:45So it's a very positive thing that the legislative inquiry, which was initially the purpose of the Quadcom, went home.
00:56More or less, their investigation went home.
01:00That's why the things that happened during the so-called drug war are slowly coming out.
01:07That's exactly the plan of the ICC prosecutor if they went here.
01:13But there are people who are saying that the things that are coming out of the Quadcom are being taken by the ICC or they are being submitted to the ICC. What is your reaction to this?
01:20Raffy, in all likelihood, the ICC is monitoring this because they have representatives who are here.
01:29We know who they are and they are attending the Quadcom hearings.
01:34That's why I'm sure that everything that's happening in the Quadcom investigation is being reported to the ICC, Office of the Prosecutor.
01:42But are you saying that the work of the Quadcom is enough because the ICC will not investigate anymore?
01:50Yes, I think so. First of all, the ICC cannot exercise jurisdiction over us.
02:00When they started their investigation, we withdrew more than two years from the Rome Statute or the ICC.
02:09That's why in terms of being able to exercise their jurisdiction, it's really not possible.
02:14We cannot stop the ICC if they still want to investigate.
02:19That's why they have no hope of cooperation on the part of the government because we have no legal duty to do that because we are no longer members.
02:28But the relatives of the AJK victims are saying that they cannot get justice here in the Philippines. That's why they are going to the ICC. What is your reaction to this?
02:38I think it's not true, Raffy. If they did that in 2017, if they filed a complaint to investigate what happened to their relatives,
02:53maybe by this time, their complaints are already in court.
02:56But what they did is, maybe other groups will also object, they are complaining to the ICC.
03:05That was in 2017. It's been seven years since 2017, Raffy, and the investigation of the ICC is already in place.
03:14Nothing happened yet. Meanwhile, if they did that here, maybe something happened by this time.
03:20There are people who came to the court and there are people who were convicted. It's just a small number.
03:25But the process of investigation and prosecution is still ongoing for those who were convicted. Right Raffy?
03:36You were part of the cabinet of former President Rodrigo Duterte as justice secretary.
03:42Did you hear anything from the reward system during the drug war?
03:47Raffy, when I was the justice secretary, we initiated our own investigation on alleged abuses in the drug war.
03:56The first thing we looked at were the incidents that happened on the ground, the alleged lapses on the part of law enforcement agencies.
04:05That's why we were not able to reach a deeper investigation.
04:10We were able to finish the administration of President Duterte.
04:15That's why we were hoping that the Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies will continue the investigation that we initiated when I was the justice secretary.
04:27It's easier now for them to conduct an investigation because the Quadcom has collected new evidence that was not revealed during the last administration.
04:40Probably because the witnesses were afraid that it was revealed before.
04:44But now, all of them are releasing it.
04:46That's why it's easier now for the DOJ and law enforcement agencies to build up a case because the evidence is becoming more confusing.
04:57Aside from the mentioned lapses, did you hear about the reward system?
05:02Raffy, when we were investigating, we were not able to hear anything about the reward system.
05:07There were only rumours about it, but there were no actual witnesses who came forward to say that there is a system initiated by people up there.
05:23That's why we can say that there is a scheme.
05:26We were not able to see that because there were no witnesses who came forward to tell the truth or to say that there is a reward system.
05:37But now, these witnesses are releasing it. Should the DOJ investigate this case and not wait for the Quad Committee to finish the report?
05:47You're right Raffy. The Quadcom should not finish their investigation and come up with a report.
05:55The DOJ, Ombudsman and other government agencies are monitoring this.
06:02If they think that there is a reasonable basis for them to take over in parallel to investigate the people involved in the Quadcom investigation,
06:15they have the right and the opportunity to conduct or to initiate their own investigation.
06:24Okay. Thank you very much for your time in Balitang Hali.
06:27Thank you very much, Raffy.
06:29This is Solicitor General Menardo Guevara.
06:53Thank you very much.
07:23Thank you very much.
07:54Thank you very much.
07:55Thank you very much.