Marcos admin ‘blinded by politics’ when it surrendered Duterte to ICC —Bato

Senator Ronald dela Rosa on Sunday said the Marcos administration was “blinded by politics” when it surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Binulag ng pulitika ang pamantayan ng pamahalaang ito sa pagkilala sa garantiyang ibinigay sa bawat Pilipino- dating presidente man o hindi— ng konstitusyon. Hindi lang mga taga-suporta ni dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang mismong nagsabi na may paglabag sa karaparatan ng ating kapwa Pilipino sa pagsuko kanya sa ICC,” Dela Rosa said in a statement to reporters.

(Politics has blinded this government's standards in recognizing the guarantees given to every Filipino - former president or not - by the Constitution. Not only supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte said that there is a violation of the rights of our fellow Filipinos in surrendering him to the ICC.)

Earlier this month, Duterte was arrested and brought to The Hague. He faced the ICC pre-trial chamber via video link for his alleged crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s war on drugs.  

Dela Rosa also said Duterte’s constitutional rights were violated.

“Dapat maalala, hindi lamang ni Justice Secretary Boying Remulla at mga gabinete ni Presidente Bongbong Marcos, kundi ng buong sambayanang Pilipino na kaya nakapiring ang simbulo ng hustisya dahil dapat walang kinikilingan pagdating sa pagpapatupad at pagsunod sa batas,” the senator said.

(Not only Justice Secretary Boying Remulla and cabinet members of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. but every Filipino should remember the symbol of justice is a blindfolded person because there must be no bias when implementing and obeying the law.)

GMA News Online has reached out to Malacañang for its side on the issues being raised by dela Rosa.

Malacañang earlier maintained the legality of Duterte’s arrest, saying that this was in compliance with Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

This came after Senator Imee Marcos said the Philippine government surrendered Duterte and was taken by “outsiders” who claimed the right to judge him, questioning when the Philippines became a “province” of The Hague.

In a separate statement also issued Sunday, Dela Rosa questioned the country’s compliance with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in arresting Duterte.

“Ang question na lang diyan 'yung cooperation natin kung bakit tayo nag-cooperate based doon sa Interpol diffusion notice nila.  So ano ba, kaya pala tayong diktahan ng Interpol?” he said.

“Are we not a sovereign state na pwedeng magsabi na, maging consistent man lang sana ang ating Pangulo na pwede naman niyang sabihin sa Inerpol na, ‘Sorry, we cannot enforce that ICC warrant because matagal na naming sinasabi na walang jurisdiction sa amin 'yung ICC na ‘yan’,” he added.

(Why did we cooperate based on the Interpol diffusion? Does this mean the Interpol can dictate our actions? Are we not a sovereign state where the President can be consistent and say we cannot enforce the ICC warrant because they have no jurisdiction in our country?)\

Dela Rosa said the Interpol was used as a “lame excuse” to bring Duterte to The Hague.

In a Super Radyo DzBB interview, Atty. Gilbert Andres, an International Criminal Court-accredited lawyer, backed the legality of Duterte’s arrest.

He said there is no big difference whether Interpol acted on a red notice or red diffusion since the legal basis of Duterte’s arrest is on Section 17 Paragraph 2 of RA 9851.

Section 17 of RA 9851 states that: ''In the interest of justice, the relevant Philippine authorities may dispense with the investigation or prosecution of a crime punishable under this Act if another court or international tribunal is already conducting the investigation or undertaking the prosecution of such crime. Instead, the authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any, or to another State pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties." —Mariel Celine Serquiña/RF, GMA Integrated News