Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s admission that he funded extrajudicial executions while he was the mayor of Davao City should persuade President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate his predecessor, according to the Magdalo Group on Monday.

In a television interview last week, Duterte revealed that he had used intelligence funds to carry out killings in Davao City during his mayoral term. The feared Davao Death Squad, or DDS, allegedly carried out vigilante-style executions.

“Ang intelligence fund, binili ko, pinapatay ko lahat. Kaya ganun ang Davao. ‘Yung mga kasama ninyo pinatigok ko talaga. ‘Yun ang totoo,” Duterte said in his TV show “Gikan sa Masa Para sa Masa” on Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) on Oct. 10.

He was discussing the request for private funds made by his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, with his spiritual advisor Apollo Quiboloy at the time.

On October 12, the video of his full interview was taken down from SMNI’s YouTube channel.

In a statement, the Magdalo group urged the Marcos administration to allow the ICC to investigate and make former president Duterte accountable for his crimes.

“We, the Magdalo group, are urging the Marcos administration to allow the ICC investigators into the country in order to make… Duterte accountable for his crimes against humanity,” Magdalo said.

“Being the original filers of the ICC case in 2017, we have witnessed and documented the barbaric actions of the past administration, as well as the trauma and hardships that the thousands of victims and their families have suffered,” the statement added.

“Truly, justice [for the victims and their families] is long overdue.” the statement stressed.

Former Senator Trillanes stated that they have already provided the ICC with a copy of the TV clip as additional evidence against the former president.

It was on the same network where former President Duterte threatened Rep. France Castro (ACT-Partylist) on October 10, stating that she was the “first target” in the Office of the Vice President’s now-terminated confidential funds.

Several House members took issue with these remarks, as well as Duterte’s tirades against Speaker Martin Romualdez, claiming that he had undermined his daughter’s request for the funds.

“Rather than making sweeping allegations in the media, we advise the former president, if he has tangible evidence of wrongdoing, to present it to the appropriate authorities,” the House parties said in its statement.

Video: SMNI