ICC to ensure fair Duterte trial —solons
Akbayan party-list Representative Chel Diokno and Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Adiong remarked in light of Senator Imee Marcos filing of Senate Bill No. 557 or the President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act, which prohibits the arrest or detention of persons from the Philippine territory and their transfer to an international court without a warrant of arrest issued by a local court.
In addition, Senators Robin Padilla, Bong Go, and Ronald dela Rosa filed a Senate resolution seeking a house arrest for Duterte, who is currently detained in The Hague pending trial.
'We have to emphasize that the ICC is the court of last resort, so there is the principle of complementarity. This means if we can hold a fair trial here, there is no need for ICC. But based on the deliberation of the ICC, they have come to the conclusion — and I fully agree with it. It will be so difficult to have a fair trial of a former president in the Philippines,' Diokno said in a press conference.
'[This is] a former president who still has a lot of influence. Maaring matakot ang mga testigo, maaring magdalawang-isip. This is a former President who also managed to appoint a lot of members of the judiciary, and a former president who really waged a war on drugs that was a very violent war. That is why for me, we can be assured of a fair trial if it's done in the ICC,' he pointed out.
(The witnesses might be caught in fear ahead of testifying.)
'The judges there cannot be coerced, intimidated, or otherwise influenced in their decisions, at para pati ang mga testigo ay hindi rin matatakot na humarap at sabihin 'yung kanilang kaalaman,' Diokno added.
(The ICC is the right venue so that witnesses will not be afraid or think twice about testifying about what they know.)
Adiong backed Diokno, saying that such moves backing Duterte show that the victims remain in a hostile environment in need of protection from Duterte and his allies.
'The senators are entitled to push for causes they believe in, but what they are doing could also be detrimental to their cause because this is the same point being raised by the family of the victims on why they are opposing the interim release of the former President: while he is closely monitored, he might use some degree of influence that he still enjoys,' Adiong said.
'Having some senators adopting this kind of resolution, it would reinforce the argument of the family of the victims that indeed, the former President can still muster some control,' he added.
Diokno reiterated that the the Philippines remains obligated to cooperate with the ICC as provided under the Republic Act 9851 or the Act on the Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity and the July 2021 Supreme Court ruling which mandates the Philippine government to cooperate with ICC proceedings if the alleged crimes were committed while the Philippines was a signatory to the ICC.
'We have a duty to respect and to follow the procedures of the ICC. Any law that we will pass or that will be in violation of the Rome Statute would not be consistent with our obligations in the ICC,' he added.
Duterte's confirmation of charges hearing in the Hague is scheduled on September 23, 2025.
Duterte is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison, an ICC detention center in The Netherlands.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
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