Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero believes that the Philippines' sovereignty was not compromised with the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
"Hindi. Una, mga Pilipino ang nagsampa ng kaso sa ICC, hindi mga dayuhan. Pilipino rin ang nag desisyon, sabi nga ni Secretary [Jesus Crispin] Remulla hindi ba? Na gawin ito, wala namang dayuhan ang nanghimasok doon (First of all, it was Filipinos who filed the case with the ICC, not foreigners. It was also Filipinos who made the decision, as Secretary Remulla mentioned, right? No foreigners interfered in that matter)," he said on Wednesday, March 26, in an interview at Kapihan sa Manila Bay.
He also explained that there are no pending cases here against Duterte that would suggest that jurisdiction from Filipino judges was removed to decide on the matter and passed on to a foreign entity.
According to Escudero, if this will be compared to the situation of former Negros Oriental congressman Arnolfo "Arnie" Teves Jr., there is a pending case here in the Philippines against him.
In the case of Duterte, there are no pending cases for him to face, and the ICC was the venue chosen by the victims and complainants to seek justice.
"So, wala akong nakikitang pag-agaw ika nga ng hurisdiksyon ng korte sa Pilipinas kaugnay sa issue at bagay na ito. (Therefore, I don't see any encroachment, so to speak, of the jurisdiction of the courts in the Philippines concerning this issue and matter)," he added.
Escudero stated that this is also in accordance with the laws of the country, which were mentioned during the hearing of Senator Imee Marcos, that any accused individual, whether Filipino or foreign, can be brought before the International Court in relation to Crimes Against Humanity.
He was referring to Republic Act (RA) 9851, also known as the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity,"
The Senate leader said that this remains a valid law in the country, especially if there are no cases being heard here and there are no pending cases against them that could be decided by a Filipino judge.