NICA chief denies pressuring cops to testify vs Duterte, Bato in ICC 

MANILA, Philippines — The head of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency on Thursday refuted Sen. Ronald dela Rosa's claim that he and some lawmakers had attempted to convince police officers to implicate him and former President Rodrigo Duterte in the International Criminal Court. 

This comes after Dela Rosa told reporters on Wednesday that he had "A-1 information" that the intelligence agency's chief, Ricardo de Leon and former Sen. Antonio Trillanes pressured retired and active duty police officers to execute an affidavit against him and the former president. 

Dela Rosa — who is Duterte's former Philippine National Police chief and main implementor of his drug war — also claimed that the meeting involved House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Rep. Elizaldy Co (Ako Bicol), chair of the House appropriations committee. 

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, De Leon explained that he had only accompanied Police former PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Maj. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., who sought an audience with Romualdez to lobby to be the next PNP chief.

“I categorically deny allegations by Sen. Bato dela Rosa that I, together with Speaker Martin Romualdez and other personalities, pressured certain officials to testify against him and former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court,” De Leon said.

Caramat offered to expose "everything he knew" about the drug war in exchange for the top post at the PNP, he added.

"During our conversation, he (Caramat) offered to disclose everything he knew about extrajudicial killings (EJK) and the drug war, including the list of names targeted for killing, weekly quotas, and the payment process involved in exchange for the top PNP post," the intelligence agency director said.

De Leon said Romualdez "made it clear" that the the appointment of the PNP chief "is solely the president's prerogative and trust and he has no influence over such decisions."

"The Speaker also rejected Caramat's offer to disclose information in exchange for his appointment," he said.

De Leon also denied Dela Rosa's allegation ohe talked to former PNP Chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde and PBGen. Eleazar Mata to testify before the ICC in its inquiry on the war on drugs.

Co issued a similar statement an hour after De Leon's statement was posted on the National IntelligencE Coordinating Agency's page.

The House lawmaker said that while he was present during the said meeting between Caramat and De Leon, "there was never any mention of testifying against anyone before the ICC."

Although Caramat offered information on the drug war in exchange for the position, this was "flatly rejected by Speaker Romualdez," Co added.

Like De Leon, Co denied meeting Albayalde, Leonardo and Mata. 

Trillanes, a staunch Duterte critic who filed the drug war case at the Hague-based tribunal, revealed last week that ICC asked the Interpol to issue a blue notice against Dela Rosa and the four other cops suspected to be involved in the Duterte administration's deadly anti-narcotics campaign.

Since assuming office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly stated that the Philippines will not rejoin as a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. 

Marcos said in April that he would not hand Duterte to the ICC. Last week, however, the government's lawyer, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, said the government would not stand in the way of the ICC prosecutor's attempts to interview persons of interest in the case. 

The House — which is dominated by Marcos and his allies — has also conducted its own probe into Duterte's drug war through the human rights panel.