Arrest necessary to ensure Duterte appearance in probe – ICC

International Criminal Court (Photo By Choinowski/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

By Benjamin Pulta, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued the arrest warrant against former president Rodrigo Duterte to ensure his appearance before the tribunal in connection with its investigation of his bloody war on drugs.

In its arrest warrant issued on March 7, the ICC pre-trial chamber noted that Duterte, whose six-year term ended in 2022, “appears to continue to wield considerable power.”

“After evaluating the information submitted by the Prosecution, the Chamber accepts that there is no reasonable expectation that he would cooperate with a summons to appear issued by the Court,” the warrant read.

“Mindful of the resultant risk of interference with the investigations and the security of witnesses and victims, the Chamber is satisfied that the arrest of Mr. Duterte is necessary to ensure his appearance before the Court.”

The chamber is investigating Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity over the deaths being linked to his war on drugs when he was mayor of Davao City and later on president of the Philippines.

Duterte was arrested on Tuesday morning upon his arrival from Hong Kong.

“Taking into account the totality of the information before it, the Chamber finds reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against humanity of murder as an indirect co-perpetrator within the meaning of Article 25 (3)(a) of the Statute, committed during the relevant period,” the warrant read.

The arrest warrant was signed by pre-trial chamber Presiding Judge Julia Antoanella Motoc and two other magistrates, Sophie Alapini-Gansou and Maria del Socorro Flores Liera.

Meanwhile, the chamber also maintained that, despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC on March 17, 2019, it still retains jurisdiction over the alleged crimes that occurred while the Philippines was still state party to the Rome Statute, specifically from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.

“As the alleged conduct has taken place between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 on the territory of the Philippines, it falls within the Court’s jurisdiction,” it said.

The ICC chamber issued the arrest warrant against Duterte over the killing of 19 alleged drug pushers or thieves by the Davao Death Squad (DDS) in various locations in Davao City when Duterte was mayor.

The warrant also covers the killing of 24 persons believed to be drug pushers, thieves, or drug users during Duterte’s term as president.