ICC asks Philippines government: Protect witnesses vs Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked the Philippine government to provide protection to witnesses who will testify against former president Rodrigo Duterte as he faces crimes against humanity charges in the Netherlands.

According to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, there is “official word” already that the ICC has sought coordination with the government’s Witness Protection Program to secure witnesses that may testify in The Hague.

“We have given our support and cooperation as this request is a well-founded request based on the necessity to bring the witnesses safely to The Hague to testify,” he said over ANC.

Remulla also said the Philippine government will extend financial assistance to the witnesses for them to travel to The Hague, where the ICC proceedings are taking place.

Duterte is currently detained in The Hague as he faces trial over the killings during his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Remulla opposed the request of the Duterte camp for an interim release to a country that is an ICC member, saying “there will be more harm than good” if this will be granted by the international tribunal.

“The court itself knows it took a lot to be able to bring him before The Hague, before the ICC, and it’s not going to be easy to bring him back in case it loses possession of him or custody of him,” he said.

For him, it would be better if Duterte will be present at the proceedings when the ICC hears the case.

He also said moving Duterte may cause some adjustments that may not be good for him as he can get the best medical care in the Netherlands.

“Let’s just wait for the case to be heard and let’s just stay put where he is right now. I think that’s the best thing that can happen in this case,” Remulla said.

The prospective host country was not disclosed but Remulla said he believes it is a country in South America as it is where ICC relocates people, based on his knowledge.

Did not abuse power

Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday said that her father never abused his power amid a petition of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to block his request for interim release to an undisclosed third country.

“When he was the president, he did not threaten the victims. He was the president that time, and had power and authority. Especially now that he is inside the detention unit and he is in another country where he is unreachable to the people in the Philippines,” Duterte said at a press conference.

In a 15-page response dated June 23, ICC deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang asked the Pre-Trial Chamber I to reject Duterte’s urgent request, citing the risk of endangering ongoing investigations and even court proceedings.

“It doesn’t make sense that he will have an influence if he will have an interim release. When he was here in the Philippines, he became mayor, president and even after his term, there was no incident when he asked (about the ICC case). In fact, it was me who kept telling him to prepare. (Former spokesman) Harry Roque kept following him for one year to tell him to prepare but he never did anything against the witnesses,” Duterte noted.

Duterte added her father should be released in consideration of age.

“He is 80 years old, he is not in good health, he has not been eating well and he needs support from familiar people and he needs the care of his family and loved ones,” she said.

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor directly addressed the claim of Duterte lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman that the prosecution “has confirmed its non-opposition to interim release,” provided that certain terms and conditions are met.

In a 16-page urgent request for interim release dated June 12, Kaufman said the former president is seeking his interim release from detention in The Hague and transfer to a third host country that is a member of the ICC.

“As a lawyer, why will you put a provision of interim release in your law, if you will not grant the petition of the accused, especially if he is 80 years old and needs an assistant and caregiver… More than that he has been detained but the case is still in the pretrial. It is an injustice in itself. Here, we have the right to bail but under the ICC Rome Statute, the accused has no right to post bail. They are claiming they are for human rights and justice and yet it is not provided for the accused,” the Vice President said.

But deputy prosecutor Niang revealed that the former president’s defense team proposed a different country from the one they originally discussed.

In his 15-page response, Niang said their earlier “good faith discussions” with the defense regarding possible release of the former president were in the context of a different country and not the one cited in request.

The two countries were redacted in the filing.

Niang said no agreement was reached with the defense on conditions of interim release to any other country, describing the one they discussed as having “a long history of cooperation with the Court.”

He said the country that supposedly expressed its willingness to receive Duterte “is not an appropriate state to host” the former president as it “does not have the same extensive history of cooperation with the Court.”

Noting the distance of the country proposed by the defense, the deputy prosecutor said the implementation of the conditions would be impossible.

“The Defence’s submission that Mr. Duterte would not abscond … for fear of embarrassing his hosts is highly unpersuasive, given Mr. Duterte’s history of making disparaging and insulting remarks about heads of state and world leaders,” he added.

“Mr. Duterte’s behavior … and the claims of his family and lawyers that he was kidnapped or abducted by the Court, demonstrate that he does not accept the legitimacy of the legal proceedings against him,” read Niang’s filing. – Bella Cariaso, Janvic Mateo