Janet Napoles must be prosecuted, not protected.
The government must pursue the criminal prosecution of Napoles as the accused mastermind in the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam, rather than give her protection, security and benefits under the Witness Protection Program (WPP).
As the President’s adviser on human rights, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque demeans his position by justifying President Duterte’s improvident decision for the Philippines to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Bolting the ICC is abandoning the Rome Statute which is a global bastion for protecting human rights against the brutalities of national leaders.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre is doing a Pontius Pilate in washing his hands of the improvident dismissal of drug charges against Peter Lim and Kerwin Espinosa, among others.
No less than President Rodrigo Duterte accused Lim of drug offenses and Espinosa has confessed to being a drug dealer.
Six dire implications and consequences ensue from the Duterte-initiated Philippine withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The adverse implications include the following:
President Rodrigo Duterte cannot have his cake and eat it too by withdrawing the country’s ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and have such detachment effective immediately.
Under Article 127 of the Rome Statute, the “withdrawal shall take effect one year after the date of receipt of the notification, unless the notification specifies a later date.”
