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Imee: Law cited in Duterte’s turnover to ICC needs revisiting
The law cited by the Philippine government in turning over former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face charges of crimes against humanity needs to be revisited, Sen. Imee Marcos said on Thursday.
The senator was referring to Republic Act No. 9851, otherwise known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
“Ang RA 9851, kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng surrender at extradition, dapat liwanagin natin para wala nang kaduda-duda… Kinakailangan din alamin kung ano nga ba dapat palitan sa extradition treaty para maliwanag din at may iba pang pamamaraan,” Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview.
(Under RA 9851, we must further clarify the meaning of surrender and extradition so that there will be no room for doubts...We should also find what needs to be amended in the extradition treaty to make it clearer.)
“Tapos ang OFW natin, kung paano natin paigtingin ang tulong sa mga nadadali o naaakusahan ng krimen sa ibang bansa. Marami po tayong nasasakop sa hearing,” she added.
(We should also look at how we can give more assistance to OFWs who were arrested or accused of crimes in other countries. We have covered a lot in our hearings.)
Section 17 of Republic Act 9851 states, ''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.”
Politically motivated?
Marcos also answered questions about whether she saw the arrest of Duterte as “politically motivated."
“Parang kasi ‘yung chronology, habang lumalala ang alitan sa dalawang panig, lumalala rin ang legal actions being undertaken. So nakakalungkot eh kasi nauwi rin pala sa pulitika,” she said.
(Based on the chronology of events, it seems that whenever the conflict worsens on both sides, the legal actions being undertaken also worsen. It’s sad because it turns out it is also politics.)
Vice President Sara Duterte earlier said that her father was “illegally” arrested and was brought to The Hague, Netherlands only because of politics. She even claimed that the Marcos administration was using government resources and the ICC “to demolish the opposition.” –NB, GMA Integrated News
