Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra
SOLICITOR General Menardo Guevarra said that International Criminal Court (ICC) investigators, aiming to scrutinize the Duterte drug war campaign, can enter the country provided they have proper travel documents.
In an interview with CNN Philippines’ The Source, Guevarra said, ” As long as there will be no legal activities to be conducted here, that they have the proper travel documents, I do not see any reason why they should be prevented from coming in because they’re going to interview certain persons, gather certain documents, so forth and so on. ”
However, Guevarra underscored that the decision to permit entry rests within the discretion of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“I leave that question to the DOJ and BI because our immigration laws grant broad discretion to authorities to admit or refuse entry to individuals deemed undesirable,” explained Guevarra, as posted on abogado.ph
When asked about the potential classification of ICC probers as undesirables, Guevarra said, “It depends on their actions. If, from the Philippine government’s perspective, they engage in undesirable activities, they may be asked to leave.”
He stressed that Immigration officers hold the authority to bar ICC investigators if considered undesirable. “It’s not my decision to make. It depends on the assessment by the Bureau of Immigration, guided by the Department of Justice.”
