Rodrigo Duterte arrested for crimes against humanity —Palace

Malacañang confirmed Tuesday that former President Rodrigo Duterte is under the custody of authorities after getting arrested for crimes against humanity.

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that when the former president arrived in Manila, authorities served the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.

“Kaninang madaling araw, natanggap ng INTERPOL Manila ang official copy ng warrant of arrest mula sa International Criminal Court (ICC),” the PCO said.

(Early this morning, INTERPOL Manila received the official copy of the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court.)

“Sa kanyang pagdating, inihain ng Prosecutor General ang ICC notification para sa isang arrest warrant sa dating Pangulo para sa krimen laban sa sangkatauhan,” it added.

(Upon his arrival, the Prosecutor General served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant on the former President for crimes against humanity.)

The Department of Justice has yet to issue a statement on the serving of arrest warrant against Duterte.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who served as Justice chief during the Duterte administration, refused to comment on the matter.

”As this issue may be brought before the courts, the OSG will reserve its comment until then,” Guevarra told GMA News Online.

‘Unlawful arrest’

In a separate statement, former presidential legal counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo branded the arrest as unlawful.

“It’s unlawful arrest. The PNP didn’t allow one of his lawyers to meet him at the airport and to question the legal basis for PRRD’s arrest,” Panelo said.

“He was deprived of legal representation at the time of his arrest,” Panelo added. “The PNP could not have a hard copy of the warrant arrest.”

He pointed out that by not allowing one of Duterte’s lawyers to meet him, the arresting [officer] could avoid being asked if they have the hard copy of the arrest warrant.

“It is an illegal arrest because the ICC arrest warrant comes from a spurious source, the ICC, which has no jurisdiction over the Philippines,” Panelo said.

The former Duterte spokesman also said this government action would make the arresting team as well as the public officials ordering the arrest criminally liable.

Following the arrest of the former president, Panelo also claimed that ”not only are we headed to a dictatorship, it would appear now that we have one.” He mentioned that lawyers of Duterte were prohibited from entering the Villamor Air Base where the latter was brought.

”It is so unpatriotic for the government to allow and to assist a foreign institution to arrest a Filipino citizen. By [doing so], it has surrendered the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Philippines,” he said.

”It’s all [politically] geared towards the 2028 presidential elections,” Panelo added. 

Ensure good condition of Duterte

Meanwhile, the PCO said that Duterte and his team were checked by government doctors. They ensured that the former Chief Executive is in good condition.

“Ang dating Pangulo at ang kanyang grupo ay nasa mabuting kalusugan at sinuri ng mga doctor ng gobyerno. Sinigurado na siya ay nasa maayos na kalagayan,” the PCO said.

(The former president and his group are in good condition upon check up by government doctors. They made sure that he [Duterte] is in good condition.)

Police officials who served the warrant of arrest wore body camera, the PCO said.

“Ang mga opisyal ng PNP na nagpatupad ng warrant ay tiniyak na may suot na body camera,” the PCO said.

“Sa ngayon, nasa kustodiya na siya ng mga kinauukulan,” it added.

(The PNP officials who served the warrant wore body cameras. At present, Duterte is under the custody of authorities.)

‘Not about vengeance’

Former senator Leila de Lima said the arrest of Duterte was “deeply personal” for her, but she noted that what matters to her now is that justice is near for the victims of the extrajudicial killings.

“For almost seven years, I was imprisoned on fabricated charges, accused of crimes I did not commit – all because I dared to speak out against Duterte’s drug war. While I was behind bars, thousands of Filipinos were killed without justice, their families left to grieve with no answers, no accountability,” she said in a statement.

“Today, Duterte is being made to answer – not to me, but to the victims, to their families, to a world that refuses to forget. This is not about vengeance. This is about justice finally takits,” De Lima added.

De Lima was one of Duterte’s staunchest critics and foe.

De Lima ran for Senate and won in 2016 but was arrested in 2017 after she was accused of involvement in the proliferation of illegal drugs in the National Bilibid Prison when she was the Justice chief. She believes her arrest was part of Duterte’s vendetta.

The cases filed against De Lima have been dismissed last year. 

The ICC has been investigating Duterte and other top officials of his administration for crimes against humanity over the alleged systematic drug war deaths in police operations.

These deaths reached around 6,000 based on police records, but human rights groups contend that the deaths were as much as 30,000, including vigilante killings.

Duterte had said he is ready to face the warrant of arrest issued by the ICC for his controversial war against illegal drugs, stressing that he would face it directly as a lawyer and would not escape in another country. —with a report from Vince Angelo Ferreras/KG/AOL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

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