Rep. Duterte joins SC petition for dad’s return; Roque signs as lawyer

Paolo “Pulong” Duterte and Harry Roque —INQUIRER FILE/HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte has joined his siblings in asking the Supreme Court to compel the government to bring back their father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, where he faces trial for crimes against humanity.

READ: ICC: Rodrigo Duterte being held at detention center in Scheveningen

In his 53-page petition for habeas corpus, certiorari, and prohibition, Paolo sought his father’s release from detention, challenging the constitutionality of the government’s cooperation with the ICC and International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

The case, filed late Wednesday afternoon and docketed as GR No. 278798, also urged the high tribunal to issue a writ of habeas corpus, a temporary restraining order (TRO), and/or a writ of preliminary injunction against the police officers who escorted Duterte on his March 11 flight to the Netherlands.

Earlier filings

A writ of habeas corpus is a legal remedy that protects individuals from unlawful detention or imprisonment.

Paolo’s siblings, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Veronica Duterte, had earlier filed separate but similar petitions, asking the high tribunal to order the government to immediately return their father, citing lack of due process.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court en banc unanimously resolved to consolidate the petitions of the three siblings. It also gave the respondent government officials 24 hours upon receipt of the merged petition to explain why it should not be granted.

READ: SC to gov’t: Tell why habeas corpus writ must not be issued for Duterte

Sovereignty issue

The Supreme Court, voting by majority, denied their father’s earlier plea for an immediate TRO against his transfer and the government’s cooperation with the ICC and Interpol. The justices then ruled that the elder Duterte “failed to establish a clear and unmistakable right for the immediate issuance of a TRO.”

Paolo is being represented by lawyer Harry Roque, Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson, who appeared to have signed the pleading. This was despite reports that Roque remained overseas and defying summons to appear in a congressional inquiry into his alleged ties to the now-banned Pogos, or Philippine offshore gaming operators.

Named respondents in Paolo’s petition are Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Interior Secretary Juan Victor Remulla, and Philippine National Police chief Maj. Gen. Rommel Marbil.

Paolo’s arguments centered on the alleged unlawful arrest and illegal detention of his father on March 11, which he said violated Philippine sovereignty and the Constitution.

According to him, the ICC’s arrest warrant should not have been enforced, and the government should not have assisted Interpol since the Philippines had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute.

Marcos ‘turnaround’

Paolo argued that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when they helped serve the ICC warrant, calling it a “blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Philippines and hence unconstitutional.”

He also alleged that President Marcos made a “complete turnaround” from his earlier pronouncement that the government would not allow ICC investigators and prosecutors into the country.

“The Department of Justice (DOJ) even prepared a briefer as regards the options of (President Marcos) in the event that the warrants of arrest will be issued by the ICC, which in fact it already has,” Paolo said.

“Moreover, DOJ Secretary Remulla even declared that the Philippine government will not hinder the actions of Interpol from executing its duties,” he added.

Domestic remedies

The Davao lawmaker said the ICC was “encroach[ing] upon the functions” of local authorities and that the interference should not be tolerated since domestic remedies exist and remain functional.

He cited Republic Act No. 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, among other laws, as sufficient legal tools to address the alleged offenses covered by the Rome Statute.

“Thus, it is clear that our domestic remedies are still in place to prosecute the exact same offenses that the ICC is prosecuting. Resultantly, there is no need for the ICC to conduct its own proceedings. Allowing the same is violative of our Constitution,” Paolo claimed.

But according to the DOJ, Duterte’s arrest was carried out by Filipino law enforcement agents “as a matter of comity and mutual cooperation in the international community.”

The agency cited Section 17 of RA 9851—the same law Paolo invoked—which allows the Philippines to surrender individuals accused of crimes against humanity and other international crimes to the “appropriate international court.”

EJK probe under way

Also on Thursday, the DOJ conducted a preliminary investigation into complaints of alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during Duterte’s bloody antidrug campaign.

“Perhaps this proves that we still have a working justice system. It doesn’t mean that just because we were able to arrest and bring in the former president [to the ICC], we will stop the investigation in our local offices and courts,” DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV told reporters.

Clavano said cases under investigation in local prosecutors’ offices and courts involve specific instances of murder and police abuses.

These cases differ from the ICC proceedings, as they have not yet been proven to be part of a “systematic attack on civilians,” he said.