Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Former President Rodrigo Duterte boards plane going to an undisclosed location, a few hours after a warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court was served by INTERPOL Manila on March 11, 2025. Contributed Photo

Article (news)

Pia Gutierrez

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) — Sen. Imee Marcos, the President&#x27;s sister and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations, on Thursday likened the country to a failed state after the government arrested and surrendered former President Rodrigo Duterte to stand trial for crimes against humanity for his administration&#x27;s drug war.Marcos is also worried that this may be repeated in the future.&quot;Yun na nga ang sinasabi ko na nakakahiya itong nangyari. Apakalungkot natin bilang Pilipino para tayong failed state. Hindi naman siguro. Andiyan pa rin ang ating mga husgado. Magagaling ang ating huwes at abogado. Bakit naman tayo na uwi sa ganito? At tulad ng sinabi mo, kung nangyari minsan, pwedeng maulit.&quot;(That is what I&#x27;m saying, what happened was shameful. It&#x27;s so sad for Filipinos that we are like a failed state. Well, maybe not. We still have the judiciary. We have good judges and lawyers. How did we end up this way? And, as I said, if it can happen, it can happen again)<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/failed-state">A failed state</a> is defined as &quot;a state that is unable to perform the two fundamental functions of the sovereign nation-state in the modern world system: it cannot project authority over its territory and peoples, and it cannot protect its national boundaries.&quot;Sen. Marcos made the declaration as she bared her panel&#x27;s preliminary findings on the arrest of the former leader: That the Philippines had no legal obligation to arrest the former leader and turn him over to the ICC, that the government decided to assist the ICC and lastly, that the arrest violated the former leader&#x27;s rights.Marcos presented her findings to the media in a press conference.&quot;Number One, the Philippines had no legal obligation to arrest former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and turn him over to the International Criminal Court. What was received was only a diffusion notice, not verified or approved by the Interpol Secretariat,&quot; she said.Philippine Center on Transnational Crime executive director Anthony Alcantara previously told the Senate panel that a &quot;wanted person diffusion&quot; from Interpol was &quot;equivalent&quot; to a Red Notice.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/-so-walang-red-notice-imee-questions-interpol-request-that-led-to-duterte-arrest-1408">&#x27;So walang Red Notice?&#x27;: Imee questions Interpol request that led to Duterte arrest </a></div>Alcantara said that it was up to Philippine government how to &quot;pan out&quot; the Interpol diffusion, which was seconded by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, who said Interpol may have issued a diffusion due to time constraints.&quot;Under Article 92 of the Rome Statute, a provisional arrest is followed by a request for surrender. There is also no indication that the ICC even requested for the surrender of former President after his provisional arrest,&quot; Marcos also said, referring to the treaty that the Philippines withdrew ratification of as it left the ICC in 2019.&quot;Finally, the argument of Secretary of Justice Remulla is deeply flawed. In as much as international humanitarian law (IHL), customary law cannot apply, he is accused of crimes against humanity, not war crimes. IHL refers to war crimes. Procedural administrative matters such as court processes do not become part of customary international law. &quot;Marcos also asserted that the government decided to assist the ICC in the arrest by mobilizing police units a day before the operation.&quot;The National Security Advisor [Eduardo] Año was already tracking the former President&#x27;s camp before the arrest even before the ICC Prosecutor applied for a warrant of arrest there was already statements by key executive officials that the administration will cooperate if the ICC courses the request  through Interpol to arrest the former president.&quot;Marcos added that she saw &quot;glaring violations of the rights of the former president&quot;, partly because the warrant had not been issued by a Philippine court and because his arrest did not fall within the circumstances that would justify a warrantless arrest.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/duterte-camp-got-soft-hard-copies-of-icc-warrant-during-arrest-1458">Duterte camp got soft, hard copies of ICC warrant during arrest</a></div>&quot;No court order was issued mandating that the former president be taken out of the Philippines against his will. Former President Duterte was deprived of the right to be visited or to have conferences with immediate family members under Section 2F of Republic Act 7438,&quot; she also said.Marcos stopped short of saying that the arrest was extraordinary rendition — which is the claim of Vice President Sara Duterte.<div>PALACE REITERATES ARREST FOLLOWED PH LAWS</div>Malacañang on Thursday again asserted the legality of the arrest as it called on Sen. Marcos to also invite resource speakers supportive of the government&#x27;s action on the ICC warrant to future hearings, if any will be held.&quot;Ganyan po ang kanyang magiging opinyon kung ang kanyang mga nakakausap ay mga Duterte supporters,&quot; Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a Palace briefing.(That is the opinion she will form if she talks to Duterte supporters)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/26/imee-marcos-says-leaving-alyansa-over-differences-over-duterte-arrest-1354">Imee Marcos says leaving Alyansa over differences on Duterte arrest </a></div>Castro however cited that former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio, ICC-accredited lawyer Joel Butuyan and other law experts have said the arrest and transfer followed the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.Under that law, &quot;authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any, or to another State pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties.&quot;Castro agreed the Philippines has no legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC but also said that the government followed Philippine laws in the arrest.Malacañang also reiterated that the country complied with its obligation as a member of Interpol in carrying out the arrest of Duterte.&quot;Kung meron po syang ibang pananaw, siguro personal niyang pananaw &#x27;yan,&quot; Castro said, referring to committee chair Sen. Marcos.(If she has a contrary view, that is probably her personal view)<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/-so-walang-red-notice-imee-questions-interpol-request-that-led-to-duterte-arrest-1408">&#x27;So walang Red Notice?&#x27;: Imee questions Interpol request that led to Duterte arrest </a></div>Castro also denied Sen. Marcos&#x27; assertion that the government changed its tone on the ICC &quot;as the political relationship between the Dutertes and the administration soured.&quot;She said the administration went by Philippine laws and the country&#x27;s commitments to Interpol in implementing the arrest.Sen. Marcos had asserted that the government reversed its position on cooperating with the ICC as its relationship with the Duterte family soured.&quot;Paulit-ulit sinasabi ni Secretary Boying Remulla na may konteksto ang lahat. At sa palagay ko maliwanag na may konteksto na talagang sumasabay sa alitan at pagwawalang tiwala ng dalawang panig itong mga pagbabago sa legal processes and our international stand. Nagbago rin talaga,&quot; she said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/27/panelo-says-he-could-have-mobilized-1m-supporters-had-duterte-delayed-return-to-ph-1412">Panelo says he could have mobilized 1M supporters had Duterte delayed return to PH </a></div>(Justice Secretary Remulla repeatedly said that there is a context to everything. And I think the context is clear that the changes in the legal processes and our international stand happened alongside the bickering and loss of confidence between the two factions)

In its preliminary report, the committee said the Philippines had no legal obligation to arrest Duterte and turn him over to the International Criminal Court but decided to do so anyway and committed "glaring violations" of Duterte's rights in doing so.

In its preliminary report, the committee said the Philippines had no legal obligation to arrest Duterte and turn him over to the International Criminal Court but decided to do so anyway and committed "glaring violations" of Duterte's rights in doing so.

Imee Marcos says PH like a failed state because of Duterte arrest

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Imee Marcos says PH like a failed state because of Duterte arrest

Pia Gutierrez,

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 27, 2025 04:45 PM PHT

|

Updated Mar 27, 2025 09:40 PM PHT

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Imee Marcos

Claire Castro

International Criminal Court

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