At 11:54 p.m. on March 12 (Philippine time), the chartered plane carrying former president Rodrigo Duterte landed in Rotterdam, the Netherlands after several hours of stopover in Dubai. He was turned over to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) soon after.
The plane left Manila before midnight on March 11 to bring the 79-year-old Duterte to The Hague, where the ICC headquarters is located, following his arrest hours earlier in connection to the thousands of extrajudicial killings during his administration’s war on drugs.
What happens now that Duterte is in The Hague? Here are three things you need to know:
What happens after Duterte is turned over to the ICC?
Since 2:34 a.m. (Philippine time), the former president has been staying at The Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison before being brought to court for his initial appearance.
According to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, there will be two proceedings before the actual trial and after a person is brought to the international court: the initial proceedings and confirmation of charges.
The Pre-Trial Chamber has to first ensure that Duterte has been informed of the crimes he allegedly committed and his rights under the Rome Statute, including his right to apply for an “interim release.”
Should Duterte or his counsel, in this case, former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, opt to apply for temporary release, the Chamber has to determine whether to grant it or not by reviewing the conditions under which his warrant was served by the Court.
(Read PH govt can turn over Duterte to ICC; Duterte may ask Hague tribunal for ‘interim release’)
Once the initial proceedings are done, whether Duterte is released or remains in the custody of the international court, the pre-trial judges will set a date for a hearing for a process called confirmation of charges.
Duterte will be provided a copy of the charges against him and the evidence from the prosecutor.
“The confirmation of charges in the ICC will be the chance for the court to validate the charges filed against [Duterte] by the prosecutor,” said lawyer Joel Butuyan, who is representing drug war victims and one of five Filipinos accredited as counsel in the ICC.
The Rome Statute states that evidence presented by the prosecutor should support each charge and establish “substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime charged.“ Witnesses will not be needed at this point as the prosecutor can rely on documentary and summary evidence.
During the hearing, Duterte may object to the charges, challenge the evidence presented and provide his own evidence.
Based on all these, the judges will decide if they will confirm the charges against Duterte, decline to confirm them or adjourn the hearing and request the prosecutor to provide more evidence.
“Once the charges are confirmed by the ICC, it is only after that that Mr. Duterte will be called an ‘accused.’ And then the trial will start after that,” Butuyan explained.
What is the PH govt doing for Duterte?
In an interview on ABS-CBN News on March 12, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla refuted claims that Duterte was denied proper care and treatment before and during the flight to The Hague.
“Lay flat ang kama niya. Tatlong doktor ang kasama niya at saka isang nurse, at saka dalawang security na pinili niya (His seat was a lay flat couch. He was accompanied by three doctors and one nurse as well as two security guards of his own choice),” he said.
“In-offer namin sa kanyang kinakasama na si Ms. Honeylet na sumama, tumanggi. Kasama rin si former executive secretary Bingbong Medialdea at tatlo pang kapulisan (We offered his partner Ms. Honeylet [Avaceña] to join, but she refused. He was also accompanied by former executive secretary [Salvador] Medialdea and three policemen),” he added.
Remulla also clarified that Duterte’s food and health were well taken care of, despite his partner refusing to cooperate when asked about the former president’s food preference, medical history and maintenance medicines.
Upon Duterte’s arrival at the Rotterdam airport, Duterte was provided consular assistance by the Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands.
“Upon arrangement by the embassy, the ICC officials handed over to the former president the names and contact numbers of embassy officials who can be reached by mobile phone for any consular assistance that he may need,” the embassy’s statement read.
Apart from that, the embassy bought and delivered “winter clothing, change of clothes, and care packages” for the former president and the people accompanying him.
The embassy officials also communicated with ICC officials and medical staff about Duterte’s medical and physical condition.
Duterte’s nurse and aide were granted two-day visas while Medialdea, as his counsel, received a 15-day visa.
What legal steps has the Duterte camp taken to address his arrest and detention in The Hague?
Hours after the former president was served an arrest warrant at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and brought to the nearby Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on March 11. Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa filed a petition to the Supreme Court (SC) asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the arrest and release the former president from police custody.
While Duterte was en route to The Hague, his children Veronica “Kitty” Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte filed separate petitions to the SC to compel the government to bring their father back to the country.
The writ of habeas corpus petitioned by Kitty was filed by the former president’s legal counsel Salvador Panelo and his son, Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr.
“The petition will ask the Supreme Court to compel the government to bring him back, and for it to account for its constitutional transgressions on the rights of PRRD, and its unpatriotic and abject surrender of the country’s sovereignty to ICC, that has no jurisdiction over the former,” the older Panelo said in a statement.
A writ of habeas corpus is a court order that requires the release of a detained person so they can show up in court. This legal action aims to protect people from unlawful imprisonment.
At 4:44 p.m. on March 12, the High Court issued a statement on the earlier petition by de la Rosa, saying that after a virtual deliberation, it found that “the petitioners failed to establish a clear and unmistakable right for the immediate issuance of a TRO.”
The SC said it had received the petitions of the Duterte children and both had been raffled to a member-in-charge for appropriate action. As of writing, no decisions had been made on these.
Asked to comment on the habeas corpus petitions in a press briefing on March 12, Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said it is up to the SC to decide.
“Hindi po natin pwedeng pangunahan kung ano po ang magiging desisyon ng Supreme Court (We cannot preempt the decision of the Supreme Court),” she explained.
For Butuyan, there is “absolutely no chance” for SC to grant the petitions because these have been rendered moot and academic since Duterte is now out of the country.
“The Philippine Supreme Court has no power to order the ICC to return Mr. Duterte to the Philippines,” he added.
In the meantime, Vice President Sara Duterte left for The Hague on March 12, the day after her father’s arrest, to discuss the legal steps and strategy they will undertake to defend the former chief executive. Sara, a lawyer, was not allowed to see her father before he was flown out of the country and describes his arrest as illegal.