MANILA – Former President Rodrigo Duterte is now in the custody of authorities following his arrest for crimes against humanity on Tuesday morning.
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), a prosecutor general from the International Criminal Court (ICC) served the arrest warrant to Duterte.
“Kaninang madaling araw, natanggap ng INTERPOL Manila ang official copy ng warrant of arrest mula sa International Criminal Court (ICC),” the PCO said in a statement.
“Sa kanyang pagdating, inihain ng Prosecutor General ang ICC notification para sa isang arrest warrant sa dating Pangulo para sa krimen laban sa sangkatauhan,” it added.
The Palace also stated that the former president and his group were in good health.
“Ang dating Pangulo at ang kanyang grupo ay nasa mabuting kalusugan at sinuri ng mga doctors ng gobyerno. Sinigurado na siya ay nasa maayos na kalagayan,” the PCO confirmed.
Additionally, the PCO assured the public that the police officers who executed the arrest warrant were equipped with body cameras for transparency.
The ICC’s arrest warrant, dated March 7, specifies the charges of murder, rape, and torture as crimes against humanity. These crimes are alleged to have been committed between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019.
While the rape and torture charges are part of the “widespread and systematic attack against civilians,” they were not upheld in the current warrant due to insufficient evidence.
The 15-page arrest warrant also clarifies the ICC’s jurisdiction, even though the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in March 2019.
“The Chamber recalls that while the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Statute took effect on 17 March 2019, the Court retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that occurred in the territory of the Philippines while it was a State Party,” the warrant states.
Earlier in the day, Duterte spoke with GMA’s Unang Balita, expressing that he had no intention of evading arrest. He said he would confront the accusations directly, using his background as a lawyer.
“I would say that not really appear or non-appearance, but I will deal with the problem directly as a lawyer. Gagamitin ko na ‘yung pagka-abogado ko,” Duterte stated.
In a video posted by his daughter Veronica, Duterte was seen questioning Police General Nicolas Torre, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), about the legality of his arrest.
“What is the law and what is the crime that I committed? Explain to me now the legal basis for my being here as apparently I was brought here not of my own volition. It’s somebody else’s,” the former president said.
“You have to answer now for the deprivation of liberty… Have you read the case at the time you made the arrest so that you should be guided on what you should know?” he added.
Former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who was with Duterte at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, also raised concerns about the manner in which the arrest was carried out.
“Alam mo ba na hindi man lang siya na-serve kung anong kaso ang china-charge sa kaniya ngayon? Hindi niya alam. Lahat ng charges sa kaniya nasa dyaryo lang,” Medialdea said.
“You are the prosecutor general. You know how to exercise due process. You know before you can file charges you have to file a complaint, we have to file a counter affidavit,” he added.
“Without doing those processes, here we are now facing a warrant of arrest, a questionable warrant of arrest,” Medialdea continued. “Hindi ba kayo naaano na ganito ginagawa natin, na sumusunod tayo sa isang entity na hindi na tayo miyembro, nag-withdraw na tayo?”
During a speech in Hong Kong on Sunday, Duterte mentioned reports that he had already received an arrest warrant from the ICC. However, he reiterated that his actions during his presidency were intended to ensure the safety of the country.
The ICC has been investigating Duterte and other top officials of his administration for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the controversial and systematic drug war deaths./PN
