Lawyer Barry Gutierrez, former spokesman of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and a criminal law professor at the University of the Philippines, maintained that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over the crimes against humanity charges filed against former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte and ex-vice presidential spokesperson Barry Gutierrez (OVP, Palace photos)
This was in contrary to the claims of his supporters that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the case stemming from the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs because of the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019.
“So dahil nga ‘yung mga akusasyon laban kay dating pangulong Duterte ay supposedly nangyari mula 2011 hanggang 2019, ‘yung iba habang siya ay mayor ng Davao City, ‘yung iba habang siya ay nahalal na na pangulo ng ating bansa, ayon mismo sa treaty pasok ‘yan sa jurisdiction ng ICC (So because the accusations against former president Duterte occurred from 2011 to 2019, the others when he was still mayor of Davao City and when he was elected president of the country, these fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC based on the treaty),” Gutierrez explained.
The former lawmaker was interviewed on DZRH’s “Isyung Pambayan,” wherein he also cited a domestic case—the Pangilinan vs Cayetano—filed before the Supreme Court.
Then, Gutierrez stood as legal counsel of former senator Kiko Pangilinan, who argued that Duterte’s withdrawal from the ICC was invalid because it was done without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the Senate.
“Ang sabi ng Supreme Court, kahit hindi na naming pwedeng bawiin ‘yung desisyon ni Pangulong Duterte na umalis sa ICC, dinedeklara namin na ‘yung mga nangyaring krimen habang tayo ay miyembro ng ICC, pwede pa ring isampa pa sa harapan ng international tribunal. Hindi na ICC ‘yan, hindi na treaty na panlabas, mismong ang Supreme Court nating kinilala ‘yan (The Supreme Court said that even if we can no longer retract the decision of then President Duterte to leave the ICC, we declare that the crimes committed when we were still a member of the ICC can still be filed the before the international tribunal),” the former OVP spokesman said.
Gutierrez argued that Section 17 of Republic Act 9851, or the International Humanitarian Law, also allows the government to surrender the suspect to an international tribunal for crimes against humanity charges.
These existing laws and decisions strengthen the power and jurisdiction of the ICC in the former president’s case, the former lawmaker stressed.
He also agreed with the government’s decision to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in the arrest of Duterte last Tuesday, March 11.
“Tama, kasi hindi na nga tayo member ng ICC ngayon, pero dahil ‘yung request para i-enforce ‘yung arrest warrant ng ICC ay dinaan through Interpol, ang sinasabi ng administration e syempre member tayo ng Interpol eh (Yes, because while we are no longer a member of the ICC, the request to enforce the ICC arrest warrant was coursed through the Interpol, and what the administration is saying is, of course, we are a member of the Interpol),” Gutierrez furthered.