Top leaders from the Philippine government, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), have spoken out and said they did NOT help the International Criminal Court (ICC) gather evidence against former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Why is this a big deal?
The ICC, a court in Europe that investigates serious crimes, arrested Duterte last month. Some people said the ICC got help from local officials in the Philippines when they came here to collect documents. But during a special meeting in the Senate, government officials strongly denied this.
What the DOJ and PNP Chiefs Said
Justice Secretary Boying Remulla said the DOJ did not help the ICC at all.
“We didn’t help them. Maybe someone else did… maybe even a priest I know,” Remulla guessed.
He also said that some private groups or non-government organizations may have helped the ICC instead.
PNP Chief Rommel Marbil also denied any involvement.
“I didn’t receive any request from the ICC,” he said.
He added that he didn’t know anything about how ICC people moved around the country or how they might’ve gotten documents.
Senator Imee Marcos Was Shocked
Senator Imee Marcos found it hard to believe that foreign ICC agents — reportedly from the UK, Canada, and the US — could just walk into police stations and ask for files.
“You mean to tell me they just walked in and police gave them everything? That’s unbelievable,” she said.
She even asked why the ICC knew to go to a specific police station: Station 6 in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City.
Remulla said that station was mentioned in an earlier investigation by lawmakers, which could explain how the ICC found it.
What Documents Were They Looking For?
According to Senator Marcos, the ICC team came to the Philippines around October 2024 and looked for these:
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Bank records of a man named Peter Parungo from 2016–2019
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Police reports and evidence from Quezon City Police Station 6
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Hospital records from East Avenue Medical Center, including:
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People brought in dead by police from July 1, 2016 to June 31, 2017
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Autopsy reports
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Gunshot wound reports of suspects and police officers
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She believes these documents were used to help the ICC issue a warrant of arrest for Duterte.
What Happened to Duterte?
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Duterte was arrested on March 11, 2025
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He was flown to The Hague in the Netherlands, where the ICC is based
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He’s now being held in the Scheveningen Prison
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He appeared via video call in front of the ICC the next day to hear the charges against him
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The next big court date is set for September 23, 2025, when the court will decide whether to move forward with the case
Other Officials Say “We Don’t Know Anything”
Other top officials, like:
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Anthony Alcantara from the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime
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Markus Lacanilao, a special envoy on crime
also said they had no knowledge about the ICC gathering documents.
What’s Next?
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a former police chief himself, suggested inviting the current head of QCPD Station 6 to the next Senate meeting to explain what really happened.
So What Does It All Mean?
While the ICC seems to have gotten hold of some serious documents about Duterte’s time as president, top government leaders are saying:
“It wasn’t us!”
Now, people are asking:
If the DOJ and PNP didn’t help the ICC, then who did?
