Ex-police chief Albayalde ready for ICC

MANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde is ready to face the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC-OTP), putting his government career on the line, after being tagged as a suspect in the investigation on the previous administration’s war on drugs.

Albayalde, the second police chief of former president Rodrigo Duterte, maintained his innocence over the alleged human rights abuses that marred the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign.

“If that will be the outcome of our more than 37 years of serving our country, we can’t do anything but face it,” Albayalde said in an interview aired over News5.

He chided former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who made public a copy of the document supposedly from the ICC which tagged him and the four other officials as suspects.

Albayalde asked the former senator if he is a spokesman for the ICC or playing politics for releasing what was supposed to be a classified document.

“Is Trillanes playing as the spokesperson of ICC now or the government? We don’t know, or he is using the ICC as a political tool for his political personal interest,” the former PNP chief said.

Despite the recent development, Albayalde expressed belief that President Marcos will not change his stand that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.

For Albayalde, allowing the ICC into the country is a slap to the country’s sovereignty. – Helen Flores, Emmanuel Tupas, Mayen Jaymalin