Ex-Ombudsman Morales denied entry to Hong Kong
MANILA — Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, who is also a retired Supreme Court justice, was denied entry to Hong Kong.
News5 reported that lawyer Anne Marie Corominas, Morales’ legal counsel, said the immigration officers stopped Morales from entering Hong Kong.
Quoting an unnamed source from DFA, News5 also reported that immigration authorities may have held Morales “presumably due to ICC case she filed against Chinese Xi Jinping.”
The 78-year-old Morales was separated from her family, the report added.
The former ombudsman arrived in Hong Kong at 11 a.m. Tuesday. She was with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren when she was stopped from entering Hong Kong. The former ombudsman is being detained at a holding area at the Hong Kong International Airport.
Morales and her family will fly back to Manila Tuesday night.
Morales and former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario called the attention of the International Criminal Court to Chinese officials’ alleged crimes against humanity against the Philippines and our fishermen in the South China Sea, which is within the Philippine territory.
The two government officials submitted their communication two days before the country’s withdrawal from the international tribunal took effect.
The communication is filed specifically against Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The international tribunal is mandated to try individuals, not states, and hold them accountable for the most serious crimes such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of aggression in the international community.
Del Rosario and Morales argued that the ICC has jurisdiction over the “atrociously inhumane actions” of Chinese officials in the contested waterway as it occurred “within Philippine territory.”
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that he directed Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ernesto Abella to provide assistance to Morales and her family. He added that Abella sent assurances that the department is working on it. —