Former president Rodrigo Duterte could still face charges filed against him in the Philippines if he succeeds in defending himself over charges against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Duterte's arrest does not mean he could no longer face the cases filed against him in the country, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.

"Sa aking palagay, hindi naman po (In my opinion, no)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Wednesday, March 12, when asked if Duterte's arrest would affect the pending drug cases against him in the country.

"Kung maaga po niya na madedepensahan ang kanyang sarili-- dahil sinabi naman po niya wala naman siyang kasalanan, wala siyang nilabag, so, napakadali po kay dating pangulong Duterte, sa kanyang palagay, na malulusustan niya ang hearing sa ICC-- so, pagdating po niya at kung siya man po ay successful sa kanyang pagdedepensa doon, e maaari naman niyang kaharapin ang kaso dito.  (If he could defend himself right away--because he said he did nothing wrong, he has no violations, so it must be easy for former president Duterte to overcome the ICC trial-- so, when he comes back and if he was successful in defending himself, he could face the charges here), Castro stated.

The Palace official stressed that victims of the bloody drug war enforced by the Duterte administration can still file cases against him.

She added that the state can also still run after him.

"There's no waiver yet of the right of the state to still run after him if there are other complainants in the country," Castro said.

The undersecretary further said "it just so happened that there is already a pending case before the ICC and we are just complying and enforcing our RA 9851, especially Section 17" which states that instead the authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court if any or to any other state pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties.

"So, we have not yet waived the rights of the alleged victims in the Philippines; they can still file cases," Castro said.