FACT CHECK: Senate panel report on Duterte arrest published online, contrary to claim

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A May 2 press release on the Senate website links to the report by Senator Imee Marcos, who led hearings on the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte

Claim: A report by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which contains findings on hearings conducted by Senator Imee Marcos on the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his turnover to the International Criminal Court (ICC), is not available on the Senate website.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in SMNI News quote cards dated June 30, where Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman was quoted saying: “That report (committee report on FPRRD’s illegal arrest) hasn’t been published on the Senate website. I wonder why.”  

The claim also made its way into several Facebook posts, such as in the group “Protect Vice President Sara Duterte,” the pages “Koko Lokoy,” “Mr JV,” and “Jigger EVE TV,” and by user “Kiffy Chu.”

The quote came from an interview with Kaufman, where he spoke about his meeting with Marcos last May in The Hague, Netherlands. Kaufman said he was “impressed” with how Marcos handled the Senate committee hearings looking into Duterte’s arrest, and said he asked to meet with the senator to receive the committee report detailing the findings from the hearings.

Some of the posts sharing the quote cards called on Marcos to explain why the report was not published on the Senate website. She has earlier expressed support for the detained former president and vowed to bring Duterte home.

The facts: Contrary to Kaufman’s claim, the committee report can be found on the Senate website in a press release dated May 2.

The Chairperson’s Report detailed the main findings of the Senate committee hearings that Marcos has led since March. According to the senator, the hearings aimed to establish “whether due process was followed” in Duterte’s arrest and ensure that his legal rights were “not upheld but protected” given the involvement of the ICC and Interpol. (READ: Some questions as Imee Marcos probes Duterte’s ICC arrest)

The resulting committee report concluded that Duterte’s ICC arrest was “politically motivated,” that the Philippines had no legal obligation to turn him over to the ICC, and that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration violated multiple laws in doing so. The report added that the Marcos administration deprived Duterte of his right to seek interim release from local courts, that the ICC prosecutor knows or should have known this, and that there are attempts to cover up details and motives for Duterte’s arrest. 

The report also recommended filing criminal and administrative charges against the following officials:

• Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla
• Then-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Rommel Francisco D. Marbil
• Then-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief and current PNP chief Nicolas Torre III 
• Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla
• Special Envoy on Transnational Crime Markus V. Lacanilao

On Kaufman and Duterte’s ICC case: Recently, Kaufman has also claimed that the ICC prosecution has committed not to oppose Duterte’s request for interim release.

However, in a June 23 filing, the prosecution clarified that it opposed Duterte’s release to a country of the Duterte camp’s choosing. 

The hearing for the confirmation of the ICC’s charges against Duterte is set on September 23. 

Previous related fact-checks: Rappler has published numerous fact-checks of claims regarding the ICC’s case against Duterte, particularly posts falsely claiming that Duterte has already been freed, has already returned to the Philippines, or is set to return to the Philippines. – Percival Bueser/ Rappler.com 

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

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