3 days ago
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Jean Mangaluz - Philstar.com
March 26, 2025 | 2:21pm
Senate President Francis Escudero as seen in a January 2025 photo release. He says the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte (right) on March 11 was without foreign intervention.
Escudero office via FB
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) did not violate the Philippines' sovereignty, according to Senate President Francis Escudero.
Escudero argued that there was no foreign interference in the process.
Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum on Wednesday, March 26, he said it was Filipinos who initiated and executed the legal actions against Duterte.
"No foreigners intervened there," he said in Filipino.
He further noted that Duterte had no pending cases in the Philippines, so no domestic court was deprived of jurisdiction.
"I do not see any seizure of jurisdiction from a court in the Philippines in relation to this issue," Escudero said.
The Senate president also challenged the Duterte clan's inconsistent stance on the Rome Statute and ICC jurisdiction, referring to Vice President Sara Duterte's arguments about the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC.
"Why are they citing the Rome Statute as a basis to say that the arrest is illegal? You cannot say that we are not under its jurisdiction and then use it when it is convenient, so their position on the Rome Statute needs to be clear," Escudero said.
In most ICC cases, Escudero said, the method of arrest rarely affected the proceedings, with only two out of 10 cases being dismissed due to wrongful arrest.
Duterte is currently in The Hague, Netherlands, facing charges of crimes against humanity related to his administration's drug war. Official figures report at least 6,000 deaths, while human rights groups estimate the toll could be as high as 30,000, with few convictions.
The current government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has acknowledged challenges in investigating and prosecuting these cases due to a lack of police reports on wrongful deaths.
