Palace after Imee-led probe: Du30 arrest legal
- According to the Palace, seconded by ICC-accredited lawyer (and Inquirer columnist) Joel Butuyan, Duterte’s arrest was valid based on Republic Act No. 9851 as well as Article 59 of the Rome Statute.
- Butuyan, an Inquirer columnist, said that the former president was given more privileges than ordinary suspects which were “over and beyond what is required by law” and “nothing was violated and the implementation of the warrant of arrest was valid.”
- Duterte’s lead counsel, British-Israeli Nicholas Kaufman, hinted that he would seek temporary liberty for the former president, who will turn 80 next Friday. He said a petition for such during the pretrial phase was “par for the course” in the ICC, but he did not say when he would file it.
Article 59 of the treaty states that local authorities were not obligated to present Duterte before a local court to examine the legality of his arrest on an ICC warrant as long as its key provisions—verifying identity of the suspect and upholding his rights—are observed, Butuyan explained.
He said Duterte was read his Miranda Rights and that he had two lawyers with him then, “so the substance of Article 59 was actually complied with.” Butuyan added that a local court order was not necessary for Duterte’s arrest under the Rome Statute.
Butuyan, an Inquirer columnist, said that the former president was given more privileges than ordinary suspects which were “over and beyond what is required by law.”
“So, in substance, nothing was violated and the implementation of the warrant of arrest was valid,” he said.
Reacting to a GMA News report that Duterte allegedly attempted to apply for asylum in China while he was in Hong Kong, which was apparently rejected by Beijing, Castro said Malacañang was unaware of that.
“We did not receive any word about that. That’s not the information that the Palace got,” Castro said, adding that they only received information about Duterte’s return from Hong Kong.
Temporary liberty
Duterte’s lead counsel, British-Israeli Nicholas Kaufman, hinted that he would seek temporary liberty for the former president, who will turn 80 next Friday. He said a petition for such during the pretrial phase was “par for the course” in the ICC, but he did not say when he would file it.
“In nearly every case, an application for interim release is submitted. I’ll file it when I feel it is appropriate,” Kaufman said in the Netherlands in reports by local news outlets.
Duterte should even be sent home, he added.
“Why should he not go back? So, as far as I’m concerned, he’s being illegally detained here, and he should go back to the Philippines as soon as possible,” Kaufman said.
He said that during Duterte’s first week in detention, he was helping the ex-leader’s “humanitarian needs and concerns.”
Who’s funding defense?
Duterte’s former executive secretary, Salvador Medialdea, who remains hospitalized in The Hague for an undisclosed ailment, is another member of the defense team. The Vice President said he had undergone a “medical procedure” after he fell ill on Tuesday.
Regarding the funding for the legal team, Kaufman said it has not been decided yet on whether Duterte would seek aid from the ICC or privately paid for.
He said Duterte’s supporters may “gladly give out of their own pockets” to help fund his defense.
Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, another lawyer accredited to the ICC, has not been included in Duterte’s defense team by the Vice President.
Roque said on Facebook live on Thursday that he had filed an application for political asylum, which he had earlier explained had been prompted by alleged political persecution in the Philippines. —WITH A REPORT FROM PNA
