A request is being prepared before the International Criminal Court to scrutinize whether its representatives actually carried out a legitimate investigation in the Philippines, according to lawyer Levi Baligod.
Baligod, who previously represented pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy, said the planned submission would ask the tribunal to assess the actions of individuals said to be operating on its behalf. “Meaning, for the ICC to determine whether these investigators conducted a genuine investigation in the Philippines,” he explained in an exclusive interview on DZRH.
His remarks surfaced alongside fresh claims from former Marines who alleged that vast sums of money were delivered to government officials, including funds supposedly allotted for ICC-related activities. The Masa Sara Duterte Alliance (MASADA) argued that the reported disbursements, which allegedly included $2 million or P116 million for ICC investigators’ expenses, ran counter to US sanctions policy.
Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte maintain that assistance to any ICC inquiry could violate US President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14203. The directive authorizes sanctions against individuals or entities found to have aided in investigations, arrests, or detention proceedings connected to Duterte before the court in The Hague. Potential penalties include asset freezes within US jurisdiction and financial reporting requirements under the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, as well as restrictions affecting companies majority-owned by sanctioned persons.
Baligod also described how certain individuals allegedly facilitated visits by foreign officials in 2024 and 2025. He claimed operatives linked to former representative Zaldy Co were alerted upon the visitors’ arrival and that former senator Antonio Trillanes IV supposedly provided contact details. “And then these soldiers were the ones who picked up these officials at the airport. Sonny Trillanes was the one providing the contact number,” he said in Filipino.
According to Baligod, the visitors were escorted to residential and hotel accommodations, accompanied by security personnel during their movements. “It was only later that they realized these people were from the ICC. Since they were photographed, they could no longer deny it,” Baligod said. “So the ICC was moving in and out of the Philippines around 2024 to 2025.”
Trillanes acknowledged that ICC representatives were in the country in December 2023 but rejected accusations that he received $2 million from Co.
Baligod said he intends to transmit the information he gathered to embassies of ICC member states so they can evaluate whether continued financial support for the tribunal remains justified. “I will provide the embassies of the different ICC member states with this information so they can review if their contributions to the ICC are still valid, given the conduct of these investigators,” he said.
