The Philippine government is ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in serving warrants to co-perpetrators of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is facing crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Pro-Duterte senators 'Bong' Go and 'Bato' de la Rosa were identified as "co-perpetrators" in the crimes against humanity trial at the International Criminal Court. Photos by AFP file
“It happened before and that’s what will happen now,” said presidential spokesperson Claire Castro, noting the process is in accordance with Philippine laws and obligations to the international community.
Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shall allow senators Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go and Ronald 'Bato' de la Rosa, as well as other former government officials, on the list, to be arrested by the Interpol.
“If a warrant of arrest is issued, it has to be implemented. On whether they would be monitored closely, for now, there is no reason to do so because the government has not received any warrant of arrest,” she added, even as government Ombudsman Jesus Crispin claimed seeing a copy of a warrant against de la Rosa as early as last year.
Still hiding
Remulla’s announcement has since made de la Rosa go into hiding since September last year, announcing he will contest the arrest warrant in Philippine courts before allowing himself to be repatriated to The Hague in The Netherlands.
De la Rosa originally dared the ICC to have him arrested in order for him to join Duterte at the ICC detention centre in Scheveningen, The Hague, but has since said he should be tried by local courts instead.
Go, meanwhile, continues to attend Senate sessions but said he, too, must be allowed to seek a remedy from the local judicial system before being arrested by Interpol.
De la Rosa has gone hiding since September last year. Photos by Bato de la Rosa FB
Former Department of Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, meanwhile, told reporters that unlike de la Rosa, he is not in hiding but will also seek legal redress should an arrest warrant have indeed been issued against them by the ICC.
‘Justice over technicalities’
A legal expert said the Interpol may implement the warrant even without the opinion of a local court as the Philippine Constitution as well as law and jurisprudence allow the arrest.
Former Far Eastern University Institute of Law dean Mel Santa Maria said the alleged offence is not a simple domestic crime but a universal misdeed.
“Under international law, these offences are so heinous that they transcend national borders. They are an affront to the conscience of all mankind,” Sta. Maria explained.
The lawyer said that Duterte and his co-perpetrators have very little chance of being made accountable locally for the thousands of deaths due to anti-drug war they implemented, forcing complainants to seek redress with the ICC.
Go and Duterte during happier times in this undated photo. Photos by Bong Go FB
“The principle of universal jurisdiction allows—and that often requires—the global community to act when local systems are unable or unwilling,” the lawyer said.
He said that the Philippine Constitution "adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land."
Sta. Maria also pointed out the existence of Republic Act No. 9851, or the Crimes Against Humanity Law enacted in 2009, that in fact predated the Rome Statute’s effectivity in the Philippines.
He also debunked arguments that allowing the ICC arrests weakens Philippine sovereignty, saying cooperating with the ICC and the Interpol is not an act of surrender but an act of strength.
The legal expert said the Philippines should honor international conventions if only to prove it is a prominent and responsible member of the global community of civilized nations.
“We are not a rogue state; we are a nation that believes no one—not even a Senator—is above the laws of man and the laws of the world,” Sta. Maria said.
“To insist on a domestic warrant for a universal crime against humanity is to build a wall where there should be a bridge. Let us choose justice over technicalities,” he concluded.
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