Minority solons welcome ICC rejection of Duterte's interim release request
At A Glance
- Members of the House minority bloc welcomed over the weekend the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to reject former president Rodrigo Duterte's appeal for interim release.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte (PPAB)
Members of the House minority bloc welcomed over the weekend the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to reject former president Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal for interim release.
Positively receiving news about the development were Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña and Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago.
"On no less than Children's month, the forces of justice in the universe decided to dismiss Duterte's appeal for interim release," Cendaña said in a statement Friday night, Nov. 28.
"Dapat niyang pagbayaran ang buhay ng mga batang pinatay noong drug war (He must pay for the lives of children who were killed during the drug war)," he said of the 80-year-old Duterte, who served as Philippine president from 2016 to 2022.
"Hustisya ito para kina Myca, 3 years old; Danica Mae, 5 years old; Skyler, 4 years old; at sa libo-libo pang biktima ng war on drugs (This is justice for Myca, three years old; Danica Mae, five years old; Skyler, four years old and to the thousands of other victims of the drug war)," Cendaña said.
On Saturday, Nov. 29, Elago said: "We welcome the [ICC] Appeals Chamber’s decision to deny former president Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal for interim release."
"As the ICC awaits Duterte’s medical evaluation and moves closer to trial, we stand firmly with the victims, their families, and all advocates who have fought tirelessly against impunity," said the Makabayan solon.
"We urge the public to support the families of EJK (extra judicial killings) victims in the fight for justice and to reject all forms of intimidation and disinformation that seek to silence them," Elago further said.
Duterte had been under the custody of the ICC at The Hague in the Netherlands since mid-March. He is facing a charge of crimes against humanity for his administration's bloody anti-illegal drug campaign.