Mothers whose sons were summarily executed on unconfirmed drug allegations during the administration of Rodrigo Duterte celebrated the former president’s arrest on March 11.
They were joined by various groups in gatherings organized immediately following Duterte’s arrest before noon on Tuesday, in line with the International Criminal Court investigation into his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
The former president was taken into police custody upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He came from Hong Kong for a thanksgiving and campaign rally for Apollo Quiboloy and other senatorial candidates of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino on March 9. He was then brought to Villamor Air Base and later flown to The Hague, where the ICC is headquartered, to be put on trial.
Duterte’s allies decried his arrest as “unlawful” and “unconstitutional,” questioning the ICC’s jurisdiction in the country since the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect on March 16, 2019.
First step in ‘long road to justice’
Llore Pasco, whose sons Crisanto and Juan Carlos Lozano were killed by police over an alleged holdup in May 2017, could not stop her tears upon hearing the news.
“Umiiyak kami dahil sa tuwa, pero nagdadalamhati kami dahil umpisa pa lang… mahaba pa ang lakbayin ngunit umaasa kami na mabibigyan ng hustisya ang aming mga kaanak.”
(We weep out of joy, but we are also mourning because this is only the beginning… the journey is still long but we have hope that our loved ones will be given justice.)
— Pasco at a Welcome Rotonda protest in Quezon City following Duterte’s arrest
Pasco is with Rise Up for Life and for Rights, an alliance of lawyers, religious groups and families of victims in Duterte’s war on drugs.
The group filed a complaint before the ICC in 2018 requesting an investigation into the former president’s hand in the summary executions. The same complaint progressed into an investigation that led to the March 11 arrest.
Upon arriving in The Netherlands, Duterte will be tried at “a local court of competent authority,” according to lawyer Kristina Conti, an assistant to counsel in the ICC. She said the court will first verify if Duterte’s rights were respected during and after the arrest.
“Buti pa siya, nakatikim ng tamang proseso kung paano hulihin, (How fortunate he is to have experienced the proper method of arrest)” Conti said on GMA Network’s Unang Hirit on March 12.
International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Manila and the Philippine National Police served the ICC arrest warrant against Duterte. The Presidential Communications Office reported that police officials ensured arresting authorities were wearing body cameras during the process.
Emily Soriano, mother of teenage boy Angelito who was gunned down by police days after Christmas in 2016, criticized the due process afforded to Duterte but absent in her son’s case.
“Ang kagaya ni Duterte, binibigyan siya ng protection; nabigyan pa siya ng pag-asa na makulong sa magandang kulungan, pero ang mga mahal namin sa buhay, pinaslang agad.”
(Someone like Duterte was given protection; he even has the chance to be detained in a decent prison, but our loved ones were killed on the spot.)
— Soriano at a Welcome Rotonda protest in Quezon City following Duterte’s arrest
Despite the casualties preceding Duterte’s arrest, CenterLaw Philippines advised the victims’ relatives to hold out hope. The firm works with and represents victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
“The ICC’s actions today send a resounding message that the international community and advocates for human rights in the Philippines will continue to fight to uphold the rule of law, even as applied to former heads of State,” the law firm said in a statement.
Duterte camp cries human rights violations
Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Duterte’s former executive assistant, called the arrest “an affront to the sovereignty of the Philippines.”
Go was on Facebook Live on March 11, tagging along every step of Duterte’s arrest before being flown out shortly before midnight. He claimed the former president was denied medical attention despite his “glucose level [shooting] up.”
“Umaapela ako sa awtoridad na pangalagaan ang kanyang katayuan… Constitutional right naman po ‘yan ng bawat Filipino to get proper medical attention when needed,” said Go.
(I am appealing to authorities to take care of [Duterte’s] condition… Each Filipino has the constitutional right to get proper medical attention when needed.)
Vice President Sara Duterte echoed the call to grant her father his “fundamental rights.”
“He has not been brought before any competent judicial authority to assert his rights and to allow him to avail of reliefs provided by law,” she said.
The former president’s daughter was mentioned in the ICC investigation and faces impeachment trial over several allegations of crimes, including anomalies in confidential fund spending.
Long-time Duterte cohort and drug war enforcer, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, has been evading questions from the media on his own whereabouts.
“If all legal remedies are exhausted and still justice is to no avail, then I don’t want my family to suffer from cops looking for a heartbeat. I am ready to join the old man hoping that they would allow me to take care of him,” Dela Rosa posted on his personal Facebook page.
Dela Rosa filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the Supreme Court on March 11, through Duterte’s legal counsel Israelito Torreon.
The petition argued that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the country and thus questioned the cooperation of government officials and agencies with the supranational body.
“Any attempt to enforce ICC-issued warrants of arrest in Philippine territory without due process under Philippine law constitutes an unlawful and unconstitutional act,” read the petition.
Former Duterte spokesperson and chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo echoed the argument, adding, “The government action will make the arresting team as well as the public officials ordering the arrest criminally liable.”
Although the Philippines has pulled out from the Rome statute, it is still a member of Interpol, which dispensed the arrest warrant.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a March 11 address that the government was obligated by Interpol, not the ICC, to arrest Duterte.
“We have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don’t do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” he said.
The president’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos who adopted a peace-loving stance, said it is evident the Philippines never learned from divisive politicking, comparing the present issue to the controversies former presidents faced in the past, particularly his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“Kawawa naman si presidente Duterte, (I pity President Duterte,)” Marcos said.
‘The fight is far from over’
Staunch critic of Duterte’s war on drugs, former senator Leila de Lima, said:
“I stood before the courts because I had nothing to hide. Duterte now has to answer for his actions, not in the court of public opinion, but before the rule of law.”
After almost seven years of imprisonment from false allegations and what De Lima called political persecution, the courts have cleared the former senator of all charges in November 2023.
Another prominent opposition figure during Duterte’s term, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, underscored in an interview on ABS-CBN News that Duterte had to be flown to The Hague in the Netherlands to avoid creating “political instability.”
Trillanes said, “I’m pretty sure the Marcos administration is well-aware of the repercussions of keeping him here.”
Magdalo Para sa Pilipino Partylist first nominee Gary Alejano and Trillanes filed a supplementary complaint against Duterte before the ICC in June 2017.
Human rights lawyer and Akbayan partylist first nominee Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno warned that “the fight is far from over.”
Diokno stated: “His allies will attempt to shield him, manipulate the system, and derail the process. The government must guarantee full protection for the witnesses and victims’ families, who are now at risk of retaliation.”