Latest news with #RodrigoR.DuterteAct
GMA Network
6 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
ICC to ensure fair Duterte trial —solons
The trial of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) will guarantee fair proceedings and the protection of witnesses, two lawmakers said on Wednesday. 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
GMA Network
7 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Imee seeks ban on transfer of Pinoys to foreign jurisdiction sans local warrant
Senator Imee Marcos has filed a measure seeking the prohibition of arresting or detaining any person in the Philippine territory and transferring them to an international court without a warrant of arrest issued by a local court. In the explanatory note of Senate Bill No. 557, also known as the President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act, Marcos called the arrest and turn over of the former president to the International Criminal Court 'abuses by the authorities' which may also happen to others. 'What took place on that fateful day was an extraordinary rendition—the transfer without due process of a detainee to the custody of a foreign jurisdiction,' Marcos said. 'Thus, it is necessary to make it exceedingly clear—if it is not yet clear already—that arresting an individual for the purpose of turning him or her over to a foreign jurisdiction without an order and a warrant of arrest issued by a Philippine court is against the Constitution and punishable under the law,' she added. The prohibited acts under the proposed bill include the transferring or causing the transfer of any person found within the territory of the Philippines to an international court, tribunal, organization, or State whose jurisdiction or authority to investigate, prosecute, detain, imprison, or execute such person is not expressly and unequivocally recognized by the Philippines through a treaty or international agreement from which the Philippines has not withdrawn at the time of such transfer; or without the written and voluntary consent of the person transferred or an order issued by a competent Philippine court allowing such transfer. The bill also seeks to ban the arresting or detaining or causing the arrest or detention of any person in the Philippines for the purpose of transferring him or her to any international court, tribunal, organization, or State without an arrest warrant issued by a competent Philippine court. Investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting any local on behalf of, in favor of, or upon the orders of any international court or the like; or without a permit issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will also be prohibited. The proposed measure also provides that all transactions in all property and interests in property of any person who is formally charged in the proper Philippine court with any of the offenses penalized under the Act are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in, if such property and interests in property are in the country or are within the possession or control of a Filipino citizen or resident, unless the court determines specific circumstances. It will also allow any person to file an ex parte petition in the proper Philippine court to deny the issuance of or cancel any visa of an alien, if there is substantial evidence that such alien visited or will visit the country to conduct any investigation, inquiry, arrest, detention, or transfer persons on behalf of any foreign court or State whose jurisdiction is not recognized by the Philippines through a treaty. As a recourse, the bill will also grant all persons who have been subjected to extraordinary rendition, whether prior to or after the enactment of the Act, shall be entitled to the appropriate remedies in the Philippine court. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs shall exhaust every diplomatic channel to ensure that Filipino citizens who are victims of extraordinary rendition will be repatriated to the Philippines as soon as possible and that judgments of the Philippine court will be given effect,' the measure read. Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11, based on a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC. He is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague for charges of crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings during the drug war. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
