PCOO

A PLANE carrying former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) took off for Rotterdam after being delayed by a few hours during a layover in Dubai, a source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was arrested early on Tuesday in Manila, marking the biggest step yet in the ICC’s probe into alleged crimes against humanity during an anti-illegal drug crackdown that killed thousands and drew condemnation around the world.

The plane had originally been set to land at Rotterdam Airport around 6 a.m. GMT, but tracking service Flightradar 24 showed it was delayed after a layover in Dubai and should now arrive around 4:25 p.m. GMT.

A source at the ICC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the plane had taken off.

About 20 anti-Duterte protesters gathered outside the court in The Hague with banners and a mask depicting him as a vampire.

Duterte received medical attention during the layover in Dubai, according to ABS-CBN News, which showed on its website photos of what it said were police doctors checking on the tough-talking leader as he lay on an airplane bed.

A spokesperson for the Philippine National Police said the medical checks were routine “regular vital signs and monitoring.”

His daughter Vice-President (VP) Sara Duterte boarded a morning flight to Amsterdam, her office said in a statement, but it did not say what she intended to do there or how long she planned to stay in the Netherlands.

The ICC’s press office declined to comment. One of Mr. Duterte’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in Dubai also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Duterte, 79, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.

Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. told a press conference on Tuesday night that the plane carrying his predecessor was en route to The Hague, saying that would allow the former President “to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs.”

The war on drugs was the signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial Mr. Duterte to power in 2016. During his six years in office, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, by the police’s count.

Activists say the real toll was far greater, with many thousands more slum drug users gunned down in mysterious circumstances, some of whom were on community “watch lists” after they signed up for treatment.

Silvestre H. Bello III, a former Labor secretary and one of the ex-president’s lawyers, said a legal team would meet to assess options and seek clarity on where Mr. Duterte would be taken and whether they would be granted access to him.

NO TRO
Also on Wednesday, the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) rejected a plea by Senator Ronald M. Dela Rosa — Mr. Duterte’s national police chief who enforced the drug war — to stop the Marcos government from cooperating with the ICC probe.

“After a virtual deliberation on the 94-page petition, the SC found that the petitioners failed to establish a clear and unmistakable right for the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO),” it said in a statement.

The High Court gave the respondents — Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla, Jr. and National Police Chief Rommel Francisco D. Marbil — 10 days to comment on the lawsuit.

“If all legal remedies are exhausted and still justice is to no avail, then I don’t want my family to suffer from cops looking for a heartbeat,” Mr. Dela Rosa told reporters in a Viber message. “I am ready to join the old man hoping that they would allow me to take care of him.”

He said he was in the mountains of Surigao and Agusan, even as he denied having gone into hiding. “I’m ready to submit myself to the authorities.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Duterte’s son and daughter filed separate petitions at the Supreme Court seeking the tough-talking leader’s release.

In a 32-page habeas corpus petition, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte sought his father’s “unconditional release,” saying he was being illegally detained over an unverified and “unenforceable” ICC arrest warrant.

The writ of habeas corpus is a legal remedy against illegal detention and compels a public official to justify the detention.

“The attempt to subject a Filipino citizen — particularly a former head of state — to foreign jurisdiction without due process under Philippine law constitutes an unprecedented assault on national independence and self-determination,” he said in the pleading.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Clarissa A. Castro said the case might already be moot since Mr. Duterte is already out of the country.

“He was still treated as a Filipino and as a former President,” she told a news briefing. “He was accompanied by a complete team including doctors, nurses and his lawyers. So, it is not true that he was not given proper attention, especially regarding his medical needs.”

Mr. Duterte’s daughter Veronica also asked the Philippine tribunal through Salvador S. Panelo, his father’s lawyer, to order his release.

The court said both pleadings would be raffled.

“It is not within our laws to determine whether President Duterte should be held accountable under the ICC,” Mr. Panelo told reporters after filing the lawsuit, based on a video sent via Viber.

“In fact, we cited in our petition the statements of our government to the ICC, asserting that they have no jurisdiction over us because our legal system in the Philippines is thriving.”

“Now that Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested on an ICC warrant sans any form of resistance from the current administration, we can expect the full force of international law to be applied on his case,” Edwin S. Estrada, who teaches international relations at De La Salle College of Saint Benilde School of Diplomacy and Governance, said in a Viber message.

“The trial validates the country’s respect for the rule of law but critics against the ICC trial could see the case as tarnishing the Philippines’ sovereignty and independence from foreign influence particularly the West,” he added. — John Victor D. Ordoñez with Reuters

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