Deny Duterte's bid for temporary release, group urges ICC

Families of drug war victims and human rights advocates on Monday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to deny any bid from ex-president Rodrigo Duterte for a temporary release, saying the former leader remains a "threat."

Rise Up for Life and for Rights issued the statement in response to former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s statement that Duterte’s camp will seek his interim release before the confirmation of charges hearing on the Duterte case before the ICC on September 23 due to lack of jurisdiction, among others. 

“In these last few days, there has been a sharp spike in hate speech, threats and harassment, especially targeted at women who have been speaking out on the killing of their loved ones. The internet is also again suddenly flooded with misleading and downright false information deliberately designed to drumbeat support or magnify support for Duterte, some even resorting to victims’ families’ character assassination, sparing not even the judges of the ICC,” Rise Up said.

“The volume of these incidents is incontrovertible evidence that Rodrigo Duterte, himself and the hate and violent culture he enables, is still a threat to victims who dare to speak up or testify. This presents another compelling reason for Duterte to be denied interim release. He must be prohibited from any return to the Philippines. His penchant for revenge is strong,” it added.

Activists and families of eight victims of the war on drugs form the group Rise Up for Life and for Rights. They filed a complaint in the ICC in 2018, accusing Duterte of murder and crimes against humanity.

The group said "Duterte is not a victim" in the ICC case.

"We must correct the thinking and the behavior of those who threaten the families who seek justice for Duterte’s crimes against humanity. We must prevent re-victimization of the victims of Duterte’s heinous and bloody war on the poor,” it said.

“Thousands of families who had loved ones killed in the so-called ‘war on drugs’ are praying for justice. As a society, we need to help them to come forward and speak for the truth,” it added.

Back when he was President in October 2018, Duterte said he should not be dragged to the ICC or else he would slap the judges and run amok there. 

"Do not drag me in ICC, you idiots. Who is the prosecutor there? Who appointed her? Even the chairman of the ICC, ‘yung fiscal nila, let me ask you, what are you doing there? Are [you] elected there democratically? Pagdating ko diyan ay sampalin ko kayong mga judges at magwala ako doon," Duterte said during his speech at the Philippine Business Conference and Expo in Manila in 2018.

The Palace under then President Duterte decided to unilaterally pull out of the Rome Statute—the document that created the ICC—in March 2018. The withdrawal took effect a year later in March 2019.

Duterte was arrested by the ICC last week and flown to The Hague in the Netherlands for trial.

On March 14, he faced via video link the International Criminal Court, where he is facing murder allegations stemming from his deadly "war on drugs."

Vice President Sara Duterte, his daughter, had said Filipino authorities kidnapped her father to surrender him to the ICC.

Sara said that she would let the lawyers decide if they would ask the ICC for an interim release. —LDF, GMA Integrated News