DOJ: Authorities complied with rules on Duterte's arrest

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday maintained that the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte is "100% legal" amid questions raised by the Duterte camp.

“Nakita naman 'ho natin ‘yung iba't ibang rules and protocols for arrest, which are bound sa Rome Statute po at sa Interpol, ‘yung mga protocols po nila,” Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said on Super Radyo dzBB.

(We saw the various rules and protocols for arrest, which are bound in the Rome Statute and Interpol.)

“So kinomply po natin lahat ‘yun at kinomply din po natin ‘yung mga local rules of arrest. Kaya po siguro masasabi ko talaga na 100% legal ang nangyari po,” he added.

(We complied with everything and we complied with the local rules of arrest. So maybe, I can say that what happened is 100% legal.)

Duterte was arrested on Tuesday morning based on an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Hours later, he was flown to The Hague, where the ICC is based, to face charges in connection to the drug war.

Serving the warrant

Clavano was asked about Section 2 of Article 59, which states that “a person arrested shall be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority in the custodial State.”

He said that authorities must be practical in interpreting the rule.

The Justice spokesperson said they believe that prosecutors can be considered as “competent judicial authority.” He said there were prosecutors who were present in serving the warrant.

“Kapag sinabi natin na kailangan pa dalhin sa court dahil siya ang mag a-attest, eh ‘yung judge naman po wala naman doon eh. Hindi naman niya na-witness ‘yung pag serve ng warrant hanggang sa pagbasa ng Miranda rights,” he said.

(If he needs to be brought to the court for the judge to attest, but the judge isn't there. He will not be able to witness the serving of the warrant and the reading of the Miranda rights.)

Aside from this, Clavano said that the principle of complementarity only comes in when a state is unwilling or unable to prosecute the “same crime.”

“‘Yung specific crime na prino-prosecute po ng ICC ay crimes against humanity. ‘Yung mga pending po dito sa bansa ay single murder cases or multiple murder cases,” Clavano said.

(The specific crime being prosecuted by the ICC is for crimes against humanity. The cases in the country are single murder cases or multiple murder cases.)

He added that crimes against humanity is a systemic attack against citizens.

He also reiterated that the ICC warrant was coursed through the International Criminal Police Organization, which the country remains a member of.

Petition

Duterte’s children have separately asked the Supreme Court (SC) for help to bring their father back to the Philippines.

In separate petitions for writ of habeas corpus, the Duterte siblings, Kitty and Baste, asked the high court to order the authorities to present the former president before the high court.

Kitty was represented by former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo and Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr.

“So ang mga grounds po natin para sa petition na ito ay unang-una hindi pwede maging batayan ng pag aresto at pag detena ng dating Pangulong Duterte ang ICC warrant of arrest dahil walang jurisdiction ang ICC sa ating bansa,” Salvador Paolo said in an ambush interview.

(The grounds for our petition, first of all, is that the arrest warrant cannot be used as a basis for the arrest and detention of former President Duterte because the ICC has no jurisdiction in the country.)

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration's drug war.

Panelo said the ICC may only exercise its jurisdiction if the country’s legal system is not functioning.

The SC has raffled both petitions to a Justice for appropriate action.

Compliance to commitments

Clavano said the Philippine government may still cooperate with Interpol the next time that the ICC issues an arrest warrant.

“Well, as the Secretary of Justice has always said, we will have to comply with our obligations to Interpol and other international obligations,” Clavano said.

“So, it might be too premature to answer for certain, pero nakita naman natin ang direksyon ng ating gobyerno dito sa dating… President Duterte (but we see the government's direction as regards former President Duterte),” he added. —VAL/NB, GMA Integrated News