Uproar mounts over Senate resolution on Du30 house arrest
More legal experts and human rights groups have banded together to oppose the Senate resolution that seeks house arrest for former President Rodrigo Duterte while he faces charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Among the signatories of the joint statement released on Friday are the Philippine Coalition for the ICC, Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates, In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity (iDefend), Ateneo Human Rights Center, Center for International Law, Philippine Human Rights Information Center, Movement Against Disinformation, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, Coalition against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific, Sentro ng Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, Medical Action Group, Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, Alyansa para sa Karapatang Pantao, IDEALS, Network against Killings in the Philippines, Free Legal Assistance Group, Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Mindanao, and Balay Rehabilitation Center.
No basis
Among the legal experts who also signed the statement were Rep. Leila de Lima, dean Jose Mari Tirol, dean Manuel Quibod, professor Cirilo Yuro, Jr.; and lawyers Roel Dapiton, Larry Firmeza, Kchyrziahshayne Dinopol, Alyanna Cortum, Alfredo Arungayan III, Nestor Moreno, Cynthia Ng, Fitz Macalalag, John Maghopoy, and Ricardo Escanlar of the University of San Agustin College of Law.
In their statement, the groups stressed that the tribunal based in The Hague, the Netherlands is “insulated” from the “special arrangements” that the Senate is requesting for Duterte, who is detained at the ICC facility at the Scheveningen prison.
“Independent of political pressure, the court operates in accordance with the Rome Statute and will determine the terms of Duterte’s detention and any interim release under articles 58 (1) and 60 (2),” they said, referring to the provisions for the issuance of summons as well as initial proceedings in the ICC.
The group stressed that the house arrest request has no basis since Duterte, as an ICC detainee, is subject to regular health monitoring and evaluation based on international standards.
‘Principled course’
“This includes frequent and unannounced monitoring and evaluation by the International Committee of the Red Cross, which in turn follows the framework of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules),” they said.
The groups urged the Philippine government to instead take a “principled course” that vows to cooperate with international institutions, and pressed the Senate to “desist from political overtures that compromise the safety and dignity of victims.”
ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told Filipino reporters on Thursday that the tribunal cannot “speculate” on the outcome of Duterte’s request for temporary liberty, and that it is up to the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I judges “to make a decision on this matter.”
For its part, Hustisya, a group made up of families and relatives of extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations, said the Senate resolution only aims to “shield power.”
“It spits on the memory of the thousands of Filipinos slaughtered in Duterte’s so-called war on drugs and war against dissent, the poor dragged from their homes, the fathers executed in front of their children, the mothers and sisters who still grieve, the families who continue to search for answers,” the group said in a statement on Thursday.
“Instead of accountability, the Senate has chosen denial,” it added.
For Cristina Palay, secretary general of Karapatan, the Senate resolution only proved that the upper chamber is “packed with Duterte lackeys and apologists.” “This is a Senate bereft of integrity,” she said.
