Duterte supporters fear ex-prexy will be brought to Hague

Supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte expressed fear that he would be flown to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands following his arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Tuesday, March 11.

Lawyer Trixie Cruz Angeles, a former press secretary of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., said she has doubts on the validity of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Duterte for crimes against humanity.

“Nagdududa pa po kami sa validity ng arrest warrant. Nagdududa kami dito sa procedure kasi ang pangako ng ating Pangulo, walang jurisdiction ang ICC dito kung kaya ang turn over na ito ay illegal (We have doubts on the validity of the arrest warrant. We have doubts on this procedure because the President [Marcos] promised that ICC will not have a jurisdiction here that’s why this turn over is illegal),” Angeles said.

She, along with other Duterte supporters, trooped to Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, where the former president was brought by the police after being served an arrest warrant at NAIA. 

As of writing, Duterte remained under the custody of the Philippine National Police but it remains clear where he would be brought after being served an arrest warrant.

“‘Yun po ang pinangangambahan namin na baka ilabas siya sa ating bansa (That’s what we fear, that he would be brought outside of the country),” Angeles said.

According to Police Major Allan Valdez, head of Pasay City Police investigation unit, around 100 supporters have since gathered in front of the Villamor Air Base.

ICC Assistant to Counsel lawyer Kristina Conti said that when a person is arrested under a warrant of arrest from the ICC, he should be turned over to law enforcement officer of a member-state, and should be flown to The Hague, Netherlands as soon as possible.

According to Article 127 of the Rome Statute, a treaty which established the ICC, a state “shall not be discharged, by reason of its withdrawal, from the obligations arising from this Statute while it was a Party to the Statute.”

According to Conti, this means that the possible crimes against humanity committed by Duterte when he became president in 2016 until he ordered the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC in 2019 remain under the jurisdiction of the ICC.

But Angeles believes that the government under the Marcos administration should no longer recognize the authority of the ICC.

“Hindi natin dapat kinikilala ito or at the very least dapat pinasu-subsume ito sa jurisdiction ng hukuman (We should not recognize them or at the very least they should be subsumed under the jurisdiction of our court),” she said.

“Kapag tayo po ay hinihingian ng extradition, dumadaan po ‘yan sa hukuman. Ito pong procedure dito sa pagkikilala ng arrest warrant sa isang international tribunal ay maaari lang gawin kung ito ay dinulog muna sa hukuman ng Pilipinas dahil tayo ay isang bansang may soberanya (If we are asked for an extradition, this should go under our court. This procedure in recognizing an arrest warrant from an international tribunal should only be done if this is subjected under a Philippine court because we are a sovereign country),” she said.

“At ang soberanya na ‘yan, ibig sabihin pwede natin hindi kilalanin ang mga utos na naggagaling sa ibang tribunals na pang international (This sovereignty means that we could deny orders from other international tribunals),” she added.