Senate panel launches probe on Duterte’s arrest

The Senate foreign relations committee on Thursday launched an investigation into the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on the basis of a warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

The probe is led by presidential sister and Senate panel chairperson Imee Marcos, who earlier decried the arrest of Duterte.

Among the invited guests are Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Philippine Air Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura, PNP Chief Rommel Marbil, among others. 

As of posting time, Interior Secretary Remulla, Año, Teodoro, and Marbil have arrived in the Senate for the inquiry.

Also here at the Senate are: Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Police General Major General Nicolas Torre III. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/UszGvJfinj

— Giselle Ombay (@giselleombay_) March 20, 2025

Senator Marcos earlier said that she will conduct the investigation “to establish whether due process was followed and to ensure that his (Duterte’s) legal rights were not only upheld but protected, especially given the involvement of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the International Criminal Court.” 

Duterte is currently in ICC’s custody in The Hague, Netherlands after Philippine authorities served the warrant of arrest against from the international tribunal.

In a press briefing late in the evening of March 11, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos said the arrest was done “because Interpol asked us to do it and we have commitments.”

This was contrary to Marcos’ previous statements that he won’t let ICC serve any arrest warrant against Duterte as he does not recognize its jurisdiction over the Philippines.

During Duterte’s term in 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal started a probe into his drug war

According to the arrest warrant, the ICC pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe he was "individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder" in connection with the killings blamed on his war on drugs.

It stated that the Duterte Death Squad (DDS) and Philippine law enforcement personnel under his leadership targeted persons allegedly involved in drug-related criminal activities.

Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and say that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings.—AOL, GMA Integrated News