REUTERS

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES’ top prosecutor on Thursday denied having colluded with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pave the way for former President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s trial for crimes against humanity over his deadly drug war.

The government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. did not plan his predecessor’s arrest and surrender to the international tribunal, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla told a Senate foreign relations committee hearing investigating last week’s events.

“We did not assist the ICC,” he told senators. “We never had contact with them. The investigation that they conducted was through their own methods and we did not, in any way, assist them.”

“We are not members of the ICC, so whatever relationship we have with the ICC is at arm’s length if we have to talk to them. But we have never spoken with them,” he added.

Local police arrested Mr. Duterte after the ICC ordered his arrest and sought the help of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). The tough-talking leader was arrested shortly after arriving from Hong Kong and was put on a chartered plane to the Netherlands on March 11.

The ICC has been investigating Mr. Duterte and his cohorts for crimes against humanity that he allegedly committed when he was still the mayor of Davao City and for the first three years of his presidency, when the Philippines was still a member of the international tribunal.

The war on drugs was Mr. Duterte’s signature campaign platform that swept the mercurial, crime-busting former prosecutor to power in 2016, and he soon delivered on promises made during vitriolic speeches to kill thousands of drug dealers and users.

Senator Maria Imelda R. Marcos, who heads the committee, questioned the jurisdiction of the international court over Mr. Duterte, whose family she considers close friends.

“The Senate will seek answers,” the presidential sister told the hearing. “And if there is indeed wrongdoing, we will put up safeguards so this never happens again.”

The Philippines under Mr. Duterte withdrew from the ICC’s founding treaty in 2019 when it started looking into allegations of systematic extralegal killings.

Mr. Marcos earlier said his government was just doing its job in carrying out the ICC arrest warrant and cooperating with Interpol, adding that it was nothing personal.

During Mr. Duterte’s six years in office, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, by the police’s count. Human rights groups say the deaths could be as many as 30,000.

He could become the first former Asian head of state to stand trial at the ICC, a court that has largely handled cases from African nations.

Several Duterte allies have questioned the validity of his arrest, citing the countries’ exit from the international tribunal’s Rome Statute.

Mr. Remulla noted that despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from ICC, it still has jurisdiction over people and not countries.

“Jurisdiction of the ICC is throughout the world,” he said. “We belong to a community of nations that is tied together by a legal system called the International Humanitarian Law. It is something adopted by more than 150 countries.”

“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. But when the ICC is running after individuals who are Filipino citizens, then that obligation becomes another kind of obligation,” he added.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo C. Teodoro, Jr. also said his agency did not have a hand in Mr. Duterte’s arrest. “No government agency, [including] the Department of National Defense, cooperated with the ICC,” he told senators.

National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año said the same thing at the hearing.

Earlier, Mr. Marcos said the government would not help the ICC “in any way, shape or form,” since it had no jurisdiction over the Philippines.

Interior Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla said the President and members of his Cabinet had only discussed rumors about his arrest warrant from the tribunal.

Mr. Duterte made his first appearance before the ICC on March 14 via video link, where judges informed him about his charges. The ICC scheduled his trial for Sept. 23.

Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio joined Thursday’s Senate hearing virtually and said the arrest of her father was “patently an illegal” that was orchestrated by the Marcos government to “demolish political opponents.”

“This is all about politics,” she said.

The ICC, a court of last resort, says it has jurisdiction to prosecute alleged crimes that took place before a member’s withdrawal.

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