Escudero sees no violation of PH jurisdiction over Duterte’s ICC arrest

MANILA, Philippines – Senate President Chiz Escudero believes that Philippine sovereignty was not compromised with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte over his controversial drug war, which human rights groups estimated to have killed 30,000 people.

Speaking at a media forum, the Senate president explained that Duterte has no pending cases before local courts, indicating that the jurisdiction of Philippine judges was not disregarded.

“Mga Pilipino ang nagsampa ng kaso sa ICC, hindi mga dayuhan. Pilipino rin ang nagdesisyon, sabi nga ni Secretary Remulla hindi ba? Wala namang dayuhan ang nanghimasok doon. Wala namang pending na kaso dito laban kay dating pangulong Duterte,” Escudero said.

(Filipinos filed the case at the ICC, not foreigners. It was also Filipinos who made the decision, as Secretary Remulla said, right? No foreigner interfered in that. There are no pending cases here against former president Duterte.)

Duterte was arrested by the ICC on March 11 and flown to The Hague, Netherlands, where the ICC headquarters are located. He was charged with crimes against humanity for his brutal drug war. His legal team filed petitions before the Supreme Court, questioning the arrest, arguing that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines since it is no longer a member state.

Rappler has explained the Duterte ICC arrest extensively in its reports. Read them here.

Escudero, a lawyer, said that when comparing Duterte’s case to that of former representative Arnie Teves, the Philippines has been trying to extradite him from East Timor, where he is seeking refuge, because cases have been filed against him in the local courts.

“If you’ll go by comparison, sa kaso naman ni Congressman Teves, may kasong pending dito kinukuha natin siya mula sa Timor Leste para harapin ‘yung kaso dito, kasi may pending na kaso dito,” Escudero said. (If you’ll go by comparison, in the case of Congressman Teves, there is a pending case here, and we’re trying to get him from Timor Leste to face the case here because there is a pending case here.)

Teves was the alleged mastermind behind the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo in 2023, and was also accused of involvement in the killings in his home province in 2019. Facing warrants in the Philippines, the former Negros Oriental lawmaker was arrested in Timor-Leste, where he applied for political asylum but was denied.

In March 2024, Teves was arrested by Interpol and Timorese police after being added to Interpol’s red notice alert. However, East Timor recently denied the Philippine government’s request to extradite him back to the country.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said on March 20 that the local justice system was too weak to prosecute Duterte. He also maintained that the arrest was legal, despite the Philippines no longer being a member state of the ICC. Remulla argued that the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed by individuals under international law. – Rappler.com