Davao councilors ask Senate to petition ICC for Duterte’s interim release
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 March) – The Davao City council unanimously approved Tuesday a resolution strongly urging the Philippine Senate to petition the International Criminal Court to release former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The resolution, passed three days before Duterte’s 80th birthday, invokes Article 60 of the Rome Statute, which allows detained individuals to seek interim release pending trial.
Duterte is running for mayor of Davao City in the May 12 midterm elections with his son, incumbent Mayor Sebastian Duterte, as his running mate.
Majority floor leader Jesus Joseph Zozobrado said in a speech that Duterte, who is reportedly in fragile health, “should be granted temporary release under strict conditions set by the ICC.”
“The deterioration of the physical health of the Honorable Rodrigo Roa Duterte can be prevented not only if he is able to take his maintenance medicines on time, but also by putting him in the warm company of his immediate family, relatives and friends in familiar places,” Zozobrado said.
During his initial appearance before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 on March 14, Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc told Duterte that upon his arrival at the court’s detention center, “the Court’s doctor was of the opinion that you were fully mentally aware and fit and that you have undergone further checks and tests at the detention facility.”
The resolution said that once Duterte is released, they will comply with ICC’s security and administrative requirements, including restricting his movements to Davao City,.
The city council promised that ICC will be granted unrestricted monitoring and given periodic reports, and that it will adhere to any additional conditions the court may impose.
Copies of the resolution will be forwarded to the Senate of the Philippines and the ICC through the Department of Foreign Affairs for immediate action.
The former leader was arrested on March 11 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his return from Hong Kong.
The arrest was executed by Philippine authorities based on a warrant issued by the ICC for alleged crime against humanity of murder linked to his bloody “war on drugs.”
The ICC investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings covered the period from 1 November 2011 to 16 March 2019, when the Philippines was still a member of the ICC. The timeframe included some of the years that he served as mayor of Davao City.
The Philippine National Police placed the death toll of the “drug war” at around 6,600, but human rights groups said the number could reach as high as 30,000.
The Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect on 17 March 2019.
The treaty provides that the ICC retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes that occurred prior to the effectivity of a member State’s withdrawal.
Article 127 of the Statute says that a State’s withdrawal “shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.”
Duterte has always maintained that the ICC no longer has jurisdiction over alleged crimes in the Philippines after its withdrawal from the tribunal. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)
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