Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Dennis Gasgonia

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - Sen. Christopher &quot;Bong&quot; Go on Saturday denied involvement in former President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s &quot;war on drugs&quot; as referenced in the International Criminal Court prosecution document containing the charges against his former boss. </p><p>Go, a former aide of Duterte, said the allegations are &quot;entirely unfounded, one-sided and unfair.&quot;  </p><p>&quot;It bear no relation to the reality of my roles and responsibilities during my service as Special Assistant to the President from June 2016 to October 2018 as well as Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Davao City from 1998 to 2016,&quot; Go said in a statement Saturday. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/14/what-charges-does-duterte-face-at-icc-court-releases-document-0813"><strong>ICC Prosecution document names Bato, Go and others as &#x27;co-perpetrators&#x27; in drug war deaths</strong></a></div><p>&quot;Let me be clear, at no time did I have any involvement in, knowledge of, or authority over these allegations. It is also inaccurate to claim that I was Chief of the Presidential Management Staff then since at no point in time did that responsibility fall under mine,&quot; he added.</p><p>Go was named among the co-perpetrators of Duterte&#x27;s bloody war on drugs as indicated by documents released by the International Criminal Court Prosecution panel.</p><p>Others named in the document are Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa, a former PNP chief; former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II; and former national police chief Oscar Albayalde.</p><p>&quot;Alam ng aking mga kababayan na ginawa ko lang ang aking trabaho na naaayon sa batas ng tao at batas ng Diyos upang matulungan ang aking mga kapwa Pilipino, lalo na ang mga mahihirap at walang ibang malalapitan kundi ang gobyerno,&quot; said Go.</p><p>He earlier denied that the previous administration employed a &quot;reward system&quot; in its drug war, but also said that he had nothing to do with the controversial anti-narcotics campaign. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/19/duterte-denies-cash-reward-system-in-war-on-drugs-1641"><strong>Bong Go defends Duterte after Garma exposé but distances self from drug war</strong></a></div><p>Retired police colonel Royina Garma has directly implicated Duterte and Go in orchestrating a cash reward system in the extrajudicial killings (EJKs) of drug suspects during his term.</p><p>A former PNP official known for narco-operations also confirmed that there was a &quot;quota and rewards system&quot; in the drug war.</p><p>In her affidavit submitted to the House Quad Committee, Garma revealed information involving Duterte and Go regarding their roles in overseeing and coordinating the reward system for police officers who killed drug suspects.</p><p> Duterte was arrested on March 11, 2025  on his arrival from Hong Kong at the request of the ICC as part of its probe into his &quot;war on drugs&quot; that defined his presidency.</p><p>The ICC warrant for Duterte&#x27;s arrest said that as president, Duterte allegedly created, funded, and armed death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.</p><p>He was brought to The Hague in the Netherlands on the same day he was arrested.</p><p>Duterte on March 14 appeared via video link before ICC judges. </p><p>Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing, which was supposed to be held last September 23, was postponed to a later date, citing a request from Duterte&#x27;s defense team.</p><p>The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber has rejected the request of Duterte&#x27;s defense team for his interim release.</p><p> The chamber has scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing for Duterte to take place from February 23 to 27, 2026, at The Hague, Netherlands.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/11/icc-greenlights-new-evidence-just-weeks-before-duterte-confirmation-hearing-2231"><strong>ICC greenlights new evidence, just weeks before Duterte confirmation hearing</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qXBleBgGKkA??si=T8ugffvJKF_4-Cpa&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Senator Bong Go, a former aide of Duterte, said the allegations are "entirely unfounded, one-sided and unfair."</p>

Senator Bong Go, a former aide of Duterte, said the allegations are "entirely unfounded, one-sided and unfair."

Bong Go denies involvement in Duterte's drug war

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Bong Go denies involvement in Duterte's drug war

Dennis Gasgonia,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 14, 2026 04:48 PM PHT

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Updated February 14, 2026 05:09 PM PHT

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ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

Crimes against Humanity

Bong Go

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