Is there a homecoming soon for former President Rodrigo Duterte?
Vice President Sara Duterte has revealed plans by her father’s defense team to use Dutch law to secure his temporary release from the International Criminal Court (ICC) and bring him back to the Philippines while he awaits trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
Duterte told reporters on Tuesday, June 3, that former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque had suggested for them to “explore” Dutch law for legal remedies. “I can do that while I’m back in the Philippines, na online na lang yung pag-aasikaso,” she said.
Duterte and her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman visited Davao City Mayor-Elect Rodrigo Duterte at the ICC detention center in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 30. The Manila Bulletin reports that the younger Duterte did not specify which Dutch legislation or provision would allow her father to return to the Philippines, but she confirmed that his legal team will move to question the ICC’s jurisdiction over the Philippines. She also mentioned a provision for interim release in the Rome Statute.
Article 59 of the Rome Statute states that an arrested person has the right to apply for interim release, but the Pre-Trial Chamber must be assured that the person will not escape, and may request periodic status updates on their release.
According to Article 60, the ICC can also order the custodial state — in this case, the Philippines — to deliver the released person to the court with an arrest warrant, if deemed necessary. Risks of escape, interference with witnesses, or the continuation or repetition of crimes can hinder a detained person’s application for interim release.
Roque and fellow Duterte ally Senator Robin Padilla appeared in The Hague on May 24 for a solidarity event in support of the former president. Roque is also in the Netherlands to seek asylum amid an arrest warrant for him on qualified human trafficking charges.
