Phl justice system under ICC trial

For all intents and purposes, our government virtually entrusted the Philippine justice system to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague when it "surrendered" former president Rodrigo Duterte to face trial on alleged "crimes against humanity."

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A few days after ex-president Duterte was flown to The Hague, Netherlands last March 11, the ICC pre-trial chamber read out to him at least 43 complaints of alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in his deadly all-out war against illegal drugs while he was president and as former Davao City mayor.

Ex-president Duterte, who is turning 80 years old this March 28, will wait for and undergo the ICC process. In the meantime, he is staying in the medical center inside the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen.

With ex-president Duterte placed under ICC custody, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla conceded the 43 EJK cases are now "extraterritorial" or beyond the jurisdiction of our country's legal system. In our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday, Remulla invoked Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9851, or An Act Defining and Penalizing Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law as the applicable law on the "executive action" taken on the "surrender" of ex-president Duterte.

Remulla explained the Philippine government cooperated with the "diffusion request" issued by the International Criminal Police Organization. The "diffusion request" of the Interpol was coursed through the Philippine Transnational Crime Center (PTCC). The DOJ is included in this inter-agency body under the Office of the President.

Although our country has officially withdrawn from the Rome Statute, Remulla cited, the Philippine cooperation was with the Interpol as a separate entity acting as the law enforcement arm of the ICC on cases involving individual accused persons, not sovereign states.