Manila: Philippine officials defended the arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) during a Senate inquiry on Thursday, refuting claims that he was unlawfully detained at the behest of a foreign institution.
Duterte, who was arrested last week and sent to The Hague, is set to become the first Asian former head of state to stand trial at the ICC. He faces charges of murder as a crime against humanity in connection with the deadly “war on drugs” campaign that defined his 2016-2022 presidency and resulted in thousands of deaths.
The government’s decision to hand over Duterte has sparked strong opposition from his supporters, family, and allies. His camp has petitioned the Supreme Court, arguing that the arrest was illegal and that the ICC no longer holds jurisdiction over the Philippines.
Duterte made his initial appearance before the ICC’s pre-trial chamber on March 14 and remains in ICC custody. His next scheduled court appearance is set for September.
Senate Debate Over ICC Jurisdiction
During Thursday’s televised Senate hearing, Senator Imee Marcos, who presided over the session, strongly criticized Duterte’s transfer to The Hague.
“Justice rendered by a foreign country is not justice. It’s slavery,” Marcos said.
Marcos, the sister of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has maintained close ties with the Duterte family. She contended that Duterte’s transfer signaled an admission that the Philippines was incapable of trying its own leaders.
Duterte’s arrest follows years of his open defiance of the ICC, frequently dismissing its authority in profanity-laden speeches. He unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the court’s founding treaty in 2019, after the ICC began investigating alleged extrajudicial killings carried out during his administration’s drug war.
Despite assuming full responsibility for the killings, Duterte has denied orchestrating a systematic campaign of murder. He maintains that police were instructed to kill only in self-defense.
Legal and Political Fallout
Philippine officials insisted during the Senate inquiry that Duterte’s apprehension was lawful and conducted at the request of Interpol, rather than in direct cooperation with the ICC.
“The ICC tries people for individual crimes, not states. So the Philippines as a state cannot be called upon by the ICC to do something for them,” Justice Secretary Juanito Remulla argued.
He cited “international humanitarian law” as the legal basis for Duterte’s arrest, reiterating that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the country following its withdrawal from the court’s founding treaty.
Duterte’s arrest comes amid rising tensions between the Marcos and Duterte political factions. The two families, once allies, joined forces to dominate the 2022 election, securing the presidency for Marcos and the vice presidency for Sara Duterte, the former president’s daughter. However, their alliance has since unraveled, with Sara Duterte recently being impeached by the lower house.
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Sara Duterte participated in the Senate hearing virtually, denouncing her father’s arrest as “patently an illegal arrest” and accusing the Marcos administration of using the ICC case as a political weapon.
“This is all about politics,” she said.
Despite the controversy, the ICC maintains that it retains jurisdiction over crimes committed prior to a country’s withdrawal from its founding treaty, upholding its role as a court of last resort.
