DOJ: Witnesses vs Duterte under government protection

MANILA, Philippines — Three or four prosecution witnesses in the coming trial in The Hague of former president Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity are now under the government’s witness protection program, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday.

“As far as I know, we’re helping three or four. But I think there will be more,” Remulla told reporters.

He said the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been providing protection for the witnesses since May, as requested by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He clarified that while the government will take care of the safety and security needs of the witnesses in the country, it’s the ICC that will transport them to The Hague and give them protection.

Remulla explained that providing protection to the witnesses does not go against the government’s stance that ICC no longer has jurisdiction over the country, since the Marcos administration “chose not to pursue the cases and let the ICC pursue these cases.”

He also said giving protection to the witnesses does not mean the Philippines has rejoined the ICC, explaining that the government is just invoking the country’s own Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

“It also becomes our obligation to help them because we are giving up our jurisdiction for their jurisdiction kasi nga ang hirap na i-prove ang case dito. Kaya ipinaubaya natin sa ICC (because it’s really hard to prove this case here, so we’ve entrusted it to the ICC),” Remulla said.

As she continued her international campaign to have her father temporarily freed from detention and allowed to stay in a third country, Vice President Sara Duterte faced a Russian television network Wednesday night to denounce his arrest, which she blamed on the Marcos administration.

In an interview over Russia Today, she reiterated that the arrest of Duterte by the ICC was purely political. The Interpol and local law enforcers carried out the arrest and flight of the former president to The Hague where he is now awaiting trial for crimes against humanity.

“Because before his detention, the president—former president Duterte was a staunch critic of the Marcos administration. There are serious allegations and questions about his (Marcos) competency and allegations about drug abuse that came from the former president Duterte and before his detention, there was a preparation by the former president of a campaign for his senatorial candidates for the PDP, his political party,” the Vice President said.

Duterte noted that the defense team of her father was questioning the jurisdiction of the ICC over his case, as the country had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute that established the ICC when investigation on his drug war killings began two years ago.

“The last time that I talked to my father, he always said that you make your own history in this world, and he leaves it all up to God, whatever will happen to him and he also said that he did what is best for his country, rightly or wrongly,” Duterte added.

She also cited the result of the investigation by a Senate committee chaired by presidential sister Sen. Imee Marcos stating that the arrest of the former president was illegal.

‘No strength’

She also dismissed assertions that the former president will intimidate or hurt witnesses and not appear at his trial if allowed interim liberty.

“If you can see the footage where he was pushed up the plane, he really had no strength at all to resist and he doesn’t intend to intimidate witnesses,” Duterte said in the interview.

“Well, as I said, the ICC is all about human rights and justice, and we don’t see it in the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte. He has been in detention for more than 100 days without recourse for bail and now his petition for interim release has been vigorously opposed without a legal reason by the prosecution,” she added.

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 the court’s proceedings.

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

“He has already stated in his brief that he is not a flight risk because of his age.  He hasn’t done that. He’s been mayor, he hasn’t done that. He was president when the ICC case was filed, he hasn’t done anything at all with the witnesses,” the Vice President said.

She stressed her father had never made any effort to threaten witnesses when he was in power, even if he had a list of their names made available to his camp in the course of the investigation on his case.

“He hasn’t done anything for the past two years. We’ve been telling him to prepare for the ICC case, but he said that it’s all crap, it’s nothing and clearly when we saw the… heard the charges, we found out that it’s really nothing. It’s 43 counts of murder that’s not even close to crimes against humanity,” Duterte pointed out.

She said a majority of the Filipinos continue to support the former president as shown by his clear election victory in the mayoralty race in Davao City.

“A lot of them pray for his return to Davao City, and a lot of them pray that he will be acquitted of the charges. And we thank the Filipino communities around the world for their prayers,” she said.

“It is a big help, and it helps President Duterte to know that Filipinos regularly visit The Hague, even if they are just outside the detention unit, and Filipinos regularly conduct rallies, so that the world will listen to the injustice that is done to him by the ICC,” Duterte said.

Access to evidence

Paolina Massidda, principal counsel of the ICC’s Office of Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV), in a formal opposition to Duterte’s urgent request for interim release, argued that the former president has access to a “great part of the evidence in the record,” including names of witnesses. This, she said in her 18-page filing dated June 25, “poses a risk for the security and well-being of said individuals.”

The OCPV was appointed by the court to represent the collective interests of potential victims pending the determination of a common legal representative.

“Considering the volatility of the security situation in the Philippines … the interim release of Mr. Duterte will undoubtedly be an additional destabilizing factor, as well as a source of great concern for the victims and witnesses in the present case, some of whom have already reported being harassed by (his) supporters,” her filing read.

Like the ICC prosecutor, Massidda also cited the claim of Duterte and his supporters that he was brought to the court illegally.

“This statement, made a few months ago, is in stark contrast with Mr. Duterte’s undertaking not to abscond from the proceedings and should be taken into account to assess the risk of flight,” she said.

“Mr. Duterte already claimed that the Court had no jurisdiction in the Philippines, or over him, even threatening to arrest ICC officials,” she added.

While Duterte is no longer the president, the counsel for victims pointed out that he continues to “wield considerable power.”

“Mr. Duterte has since been reelected mayor of Davao, where crimes are alleged to have taken place, and retains strong influence over his (former and current) subordinates,” read the filing.

“He is still very popular in the Philippines and commands widespread respect and obedience. Mr. Duterte’s previous statements are also relevant to demonstrate a risk that he will not collaborate with the ICC,” it added.

A group representing victims has also voiced opposition to Duterte’s plea for interim release.

“There is a high probability that Duterte will evade the case, especially since he has the means, power, connections and money,” the Rise Up for Life and for Rights coalition said in Filipino.

“There is also a high risk to the case, the people involved, and to society at large if he is released. Duterte himself has repeatedly issued threats against the ICC and its officials,” it added. — Bella Cariaso, Janvic Mateo