The Department of Justice (DOJ) assured the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the rights of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte were upheld during his arrest in the Philippines.
DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty said on Friday, March 14, during an interview with Ted Failon on True FM that Prosecutor General Richard Anthony D. Fadullon made the assurance in a document submitted before the ICC.
“Pinatibayan na n’ya doon sa isang dokumento na pinadala sa ICC na marahan ang proseso lalo na sa kampo ng pamahalaan (He verified in the document submitted to the ICC that the government was gentle in the serving of the warrant of arrest),” said Ty as Duterte is set to face the ICC today, Friday.
He said that he and Fadullon were present when Philippine authorities took custody of Duterte at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Tuesday, March 11, and had him flown to The Hague.
Ty recounted: “Si PG Fadullon kasama sa mga saksi sa pagbasa ng Miranda rights upang siguraduhin na naaayon sa proseso (Fadullon was among the witnesses in reading the Miranda rights to ensure that the process was followed).”
“‘Yung tatlong kailangan ng ICC doon sa patibay ng DOJ na nakita naman namin, unang-una, napakasimple lang, si President Duterte ang subject ng warrant of arrest; pangalawa, lahat ng kanyang karapatan ay iginalang habang pinapatupad ‘yung warrant of arrest; at, pangatlo, dumaan sa tamang proseso ‘yung pagpapatupad ng warrant of arrest (The ICC requires three things from the DOJ on the verification -- first, that Duterte is the subject of the warrant of arrest; second, all of his rights were respected in implementing the warrant of arrest; and, third, the implementation of the warrrant of arrest went through the right process),” he explained.
He also said: "Nakita naman talaga na iginalang ang kanyang karapatan (it can seen that the rights of Duterte were respected).”
Duterte has been investigated by the ICC over crimes against humanity in connection with the extrajudicial killings that took place during his anti-illegal drugs war when he was still Davao City mayor and as president.
Though the Marcos administration has maintained that the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippines, Ty cited two basis in getting Duterte arrested.
Ty explained that the bases include "ang pagiging member natin ng Interpol kung saan dapat (our membership with Interpol in which), as a matter of courtesy to other member states, ipatupad natin ang mga hiling ng Interpol kasi ginagawa naman nila para sa atin ‘yun (we should implement the request of Interpol which is doing its job for us)."
He also said the arrest of Duterte was also based on Republic Act (RA) No. 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
“Nakalagay sa batas may option ang Pilipinas na imbestigahin at i-prosecute ang isang akusado for crimes against humanity sa Pilipinas or ipaubaya na lang ito sa ibang korte (The law states that the Philippines has the option to investigate and prosecute an accused for crimes against humanity in the country or let another court do it),” he added.
“At ‘yun ang naging pasya, ipinaubaya na lang sa ICC kaya sinurender natin si PRRD sa ICC (And it was the decision to have ICC handle the case so that’s why we surrendered Duterte to the ICC),” he pointed out.