The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor formally opposed the application for interim release of former president Rodrigo Duterte, using as basis, among others, the public statements and remarks by him and his family.

In a 15-page document uploaded on the ICC website on June 23 and signed by ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, the prosecution formally requested the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) to “reject the defense’s request for the interim release of Mr. Duterte.”

“The continued detention of Mr Duterte remains necessary because the constituent conditions set out by article 58(1)(a), 58(1)(b)(i), 58(1)(b)(ii) and 58(1)(b)(iii) are met. The Prosecution, therefore, strongly opposes Mr Duterte’s interim release to [REDACTED],” the document read, with the redacted portion believed to refer to the country that the former chief executive requested to be released to.

Among the reasons used by the prosecution in opposing the application for interim release is the continuous rejection by the former president and his family of the legitimacy of the legal proceedings against him.

In particular, the prosecution argued that the Duterte camp, including Vice President Sara Duterte, Veronica Duterte, the former president’s counsel, and his supporters consider him a victim of kidnapping or abduction.

“Mr Duterte’s behaviour, as described above, and the claims of his family and lawyers that he was kidnapped or abducted by the Court, demonstrate that he does not accept the legitimacy of the legal proceedings against him,” the prosecution said.

“A victim of a kidnapping is unlikely to return to the custody of the kidnapper if given an opportunity to escape. Mr Duterte, his family, vocal supporters, and counsel all consider him a victim of a kidnapping/abduction,” it added.

The prosecution also pointed out that during the time of his arrest, the former president told the arresting officers that they would “just have to kill [him]” to bring him to court and before his arrest, he publicly warned that there would be a “shootout” and that he would rather die than be tried before the ICC.

These, the prosecution stressed, are “not consistent with the behaviour of an individual committed to returning for his appearance at trial and casts doubt on his recently stated ‘commitment’.”

It also mentioned that Duterte’s common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña, exhibited physical acts of violence during the former chief executive’s arrest by assaulting a police officer. This, the prosecution said, was captured on video.

Furthermore, the prosecution highlighted Duterte’s “political position and international contacts” and “financial situation and resources.”

Not only did the former chief executive managed to amass a network of powerful individuals during his term as president, but his family members and allies also remain in power, with the Vice President sitting as the Philippines’ second highest official and son Sebastian Duterte as current vice mayor of Davao City.

As Vice President, the younger Duterte “has made her position clear that she views her father’s detention at the Court as illegitimate” and has made assassination threats to President Marcos.

Proof of the former president’s influence, the prosecution noted, was his recent win as mayor of Davao City.

“Further, if released, Mr Duterte would have greater access to his associates and family who remain in positions of power with access to networks and personnel to carry out witness interference,” the document read.

During his time in power, the former president demonstrated as well his and his associates’ ability to interfere in investigations and intimidate witnesses, the prosecution added.

“The Prosecution has previously outlined the many alleged instances of Mr Duterte and/or his associates allegedly interfering with investigations against him, including through the intimidation of witnesses and planning to kill those involved in assisting investigations,” it said.

The prosecution cited several instances: a plan to assassinate former senator and now Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima as revealed by former Davao City police officer and self-confessed hitman Arturo Lascañas, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s instruction to witnesses to remain loyal to the former president during the Senate inquiries into the extrajudicial killings, and the trumped-up charges against De Lima that led to her detention.

“During his Presidency, Mr Duterte made public threats against individuals opposing his war on drugs and/or attempting to pursue accountability for crimes allegedly committed therein,” the prosecution stressed.

Among the examples used by the prosecution were a speech wherein Duterte called for the public to “kill” bishops after the Catholic Church criticized the war on drugs killings, his instruction to the police to “shoot” human rights activists, his threats to block the investigations by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), his order to abolish the CHR and then the withdrawal from the Rome Statute, and his threat to “slap” a United Nations Special Rapporteur if investigation into his anti-drug campaign continues.

“These examples demonstrate a repeated history of Mr Duterte interfering with investigations against him and should militate against granting his interim release,” the document said.

The prosecution likewise rejected the humanitarian grounds on which the defense has anchored its interim release application.

“The Prosecution notes that, as admitted by the Defence, humanitarian factors are not, on their own, a consideration in the Chamber’s analysis pursuant to article 58 of the Statute,” it pointed out, adding that previous cases wherein a provisional release was granted by the ICC were due to the detained persons need to attend funerals and “not an extended period of interim release.”