VP Sara delivers her statement during the Senate hearing on ex-president Duterte's arrest

Manila Bulletin

Vice President Sara Duterte delivers her statement during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations led by Senator Imee Marcos about the involvement and roles of the International Criminal Court, International Criminal Police Organization, and various government agencies in the arrest of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte, at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay City on Thursday, March 20.   Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00Mga kababayan, on March 11, 2025, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was forcibly taken by

00:13the Philippine National Police upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

00:19He was brought to Villamor Air Base, a military airbase, detained for nearly 12 hours, and

00:26then flown out of the country on a private jet to The Hague, all allegedly because of

00:32a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

00:36This was patently an illegal arrest.

00:39This constitutes extraordinary rendition.

00:43A Filipino citizen, a former president, was taken into custody without a valid warrant

00:50issued by a Philippine court, without due process, and without any legal basis under

00:57our laws.

00:59The Constitution is clear.

01:01Section 2, Article 3 of our Constitution explicitly states,

01:06The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against

01:12unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature or for any purpose shall be inviolable,

01:18and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to

01:23be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the

01:29complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be

01:35searched and the persons or things to be seized.

01:39This means that for an arrest to be lawful, it must be carried out pursuant to a warrant

01:45issued by a Filipino judge of a Philippine court.

01:49Nasaan po ang warrant of arrest na inisyo ng hukuman ng Pilipinas?

01:56Wala.

01:57Without a valid warrant from a Philippine court, this was, at best, a warrantless arrest.

02:04Under the rules of court, warrantless arrests are only permitted in three instances, in

02:09flagrante directo, hot pursuit, and escaped prisoner.

02:14None of these circumstances applied to the case of the former President.

02:21So what was the legal basis of his arrest?

02:25The authorities acted solely on an ICC warrant, a document that has no legal effect in the

02:31Philippines unless reviewed and validated by a Philippine court.

02:36In fact, even assuming without conceding that the government itself wished to recognize

02:41and enforce the ICC's warrant, it still violated the Rome Statute itself.

02:46Even by ICC standards, the former President should have been brought before a Philippine

02:51judge to determine the validity of his arrest before he was handed over to a foreign court.

02:59Under Article 59 of the Rome Statute, a state party which has received a request for arrest

03:04and surrender shall immediately take steps to arrest the person in question in accordance

03:09with its laws and the provisions of Part IX and shall bring that person before the

03:16competent judicial authority in that state.

03:19Yan ang sinasasabi ko paulit-ulit nung nasa labas ako ng gate ng Villamor Air Base.

03:27And why was this not done?

03:29If they claim to abide by international law and standards, then why did they conveniently

03:33choose to ignore this provision?

03:37The fact remains that we are no longer a state party to the Rome Statute, we are no

03:41longer a member of the ICC.

03:44In fact, in a letter dated December 15, 2023, the President himself wrote, with respect

03:56to our concerns, legal or otherwise, on the investigation to be conducted by the International

04:02Criminal Court into the previous administration's war on drugs, I remain steadfast in my response

04:07that the jurisdiction of the ICC over the Republic of the Philippines after the effectivity

04:14of its withdrawal therefrom is very much in question.

04:19To this end, this government will not assist the ICC in any way, shape or form.

04:26So if the government itself has declared non-cooperation with the ICC, why did the PNP violate this

04:34very policy and enforce a foreign warrant?

04:38Even granting for the sake of argument that we have some duty to cooperate with either

04:42the ICC or Interpol, does that duty override the fundamental rights of every Filipino enshrined

04:49in our Constitution?

04:52What happened on March 11, 2025 is not just about one man.

04:58It is about all of us.

05:00It is about the country.

05:02If a former President can be taken without due process, what stops them from doing the

05:06same to any other Filipino?

05:08Therefore, we must dare to ask more questions.

05:12Under whose authority did the PNP act?

05:15Why didn't it enforce a foreign warrant without a Philippine court order?

05:20Why didn't they at least bring PRRD before a judge, as required by the Rome Statute itself?

05:28Even more disturbing is the silence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

05:34Why did the AFP stand idly by while a former Commander-in-Chief was taken from a military

05:40base under questionable circumstances?

05:44How could they allow a foreign tribunal to override on our constitutional guarantees?

05:52We have now lost a former President.

05:55I pray that we do not lose the country next.

06:01Your Honor, Senators Cayetano and Marcos, and other Senators present, alam naman natin

06:09lahat at alam nila na mali ang ginaginawa nila.

06:19Ginaginawa nila yun just to demolish political opponents.

06:27This is all about politics.

06:30The administration is using government resources, the ICC, to demolish the opposition.

06:36Wala na tayong argument, mali ang ginawa.

06:43Ang tanong ngayon, ano ang gagawin natin para maibalik ang dating Pangulo sa Pilipinas?

06:50Kasi nag-iisa ako ngayon dito na gumagawa ng paraan para maibalik ang ating dating Pangulo

06:59sa ating bayan.

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