The camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte insisted Tuesday before the Supreme Court (SC) that he was “abducted” and that a local law was not enough to authorize his transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Duterte’s legal team, led by his daughter Veronica Duterte through lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo submitted the traverse comment before the SC, noting that Republic Act (RA) No. 9851–the Philippine International Humanitarian Law–was enacted in 2009, while the Rome Statute was forwarded to the Senate for concurrence in 2011.
They further contended that when RA No. 9851 was being deliberated, the Rome Statute was not yet in force in the Philippines, and the ICC had not yet acquired “complementary jurisdiction.”
“Clearly, the respondents weaponized the ICC, and violated FPRRD’s (former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) fundamental rights, for what appears to be political gain,” the comment stated.
The legal team also emphasized that the ICC prosecutor’s request for an investigation into the Philippine situation, dated May 24, 2021, occurred after the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which took effect on March 17, 2019.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla declined to comment extensively, citing the sub judice nature of the case. “No comment, no comment muna, kasi ano yan, subjudice, I think we should respect the means and bounds by which we will hear the cases in the Supreme Court so it’s not good to comment on these matters,” he said.
However, Remulla firmly denied the “abduction” claim. “That’s a semantic phraseology that is very biased, we cannot operate that way because clearly they are already under competent judicial authority with the ICC tribunal hearing the cases,” he stated.
Vice President Sara Duterte confirmed that they are finalizing a shortlist to add a Filipino lawyer to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s ICC defense team. She explained that a Filipino lawyer is needed “who can argue regarding Philippine laws.”
“There is no Filipino lawyer yet at the moment. We are currently working on a shortlist,” she said.
She said that she still needs to get the lawyers cleared by the ICC, and formally placed into the legal team. and that once those tasks are completed she intends to return to the Philippines.
“The thing here at the ICC is that the team is not yet complete. Getting papers for other lawyers. So, that’s what I need to finish. I need to introduce the lawyer in charge for PRRD inside and to the outside world. To my siblings and to Cielito so that I can return to the Philippines and then just come here when needed.”