Ched Rick Gatchalian

Senate minority bloc. Senator Imee Marcos/Facebook

 

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Senate begins tackling resolution that urges ICC warrants to go through PH courts first

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1771930485834imee.png" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Senate minority bloc. Senator Imee Marcos/Facebook"/>Senate minority bloc. Senator Imee Marcos/Facebook</div>MANILA -- Senate Minority Bloc lawmakers led by Senators Bong Go, Imee Marcos, Jinggoy Estrada, Rodante Marcoleta and Robin Padilla delivered sponsorship speeches on a proposed Senate Resolution that seeks to urge that warrants of the International Criminal Court go through a Philippine Court first.Go and another Senator Ronald dela Rosa, have been named as co-perpetrators in the crimes against humanity case for which former President Rodrigo Duterte is being tried at the Hague.Dela Rosa been absent from the public eye since there were unconfirmed reports that the ICC ordered his arrest started to circulate.The measure is Proposed Resolution No. 307:  Resolution expressing the sense of the Senate of the Philippines to protect all Filipinos against extraordinary rendition and guarantee them a reasonable time prior to their surrender by or extradition from the Philippines to seek redress from the courts and avail of legal remedies<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/22/drug-war-victims-denounce-claims-taxpayers-money-used-for-icc-confirmation-hearing-trip-2019">Drug war victims denounce claims taxpayers’ money used for ICC confirmation hearing trip</a></div>&quot;The very core of this resolution is a simple but powerful principle: no Filipino should be deprived of liberty without due process of law. This is not merely a legal or procedural technicality, but a constitutional guarantee enshrined in our fundamental law.&quot; Go said.&quot;I have always believed in the due process of the law. This resolution may appear to intersect with my personal circumstances and I do not shy away from that reality. But precisely because of that reality, I speak today and support this resolution not merely as a legislator, but as a Filipino who believes deeply in the protections guaranteed by our Constitution.&quot;&quot;This resolution is not crafted to serve any individual. It is not a shield for the powerful, nor is it a refuge for the guilty. It is a reaffirmation that every Filipino, ordinary citizen or public official, karaniwang mamamayan man o nasa puwesto, stands equal before the law and under its protection.&quot;&quot;Wala naman sigurong Pilipino ang ayaw magtrabaho o umiwas sa tungkulin. Sino bang ayaw magtrabaho? Ang gusto lang natin ay makasiguro na ang bawat Pilipino ay protektado at lahat ay dumaan sa due process. Ako po mismo tinatanong nila, ako naman po ay nagtatrabaho, Lunes hanggang Linggo po. At hindi ko po matiis na nakaupo lang sa malamig na opisina habang ang mga kababayan natin nangangailangan ng tulong, &#x27;yan naman po ang ating sinumpaang tungkulin.&quot; Go said,  &quot;At kahit po &#x27;yung isa kong kasamahan dito sa Senado na si Senator Bato dela Rosa, isa rin po sa masisipag nating senador, ay gusto lang din pong makapagtrabaho lang po nang maayos.&quot;Marcoleta emphasized the importance of being able to seek remedies before being turned over to the ICC.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/23/duterte-supporters-urge-sc-to-settle-pending-habeas-corpus-petitions-1254">&#x27;He was kidnapped&#x27;: Duterte supporters urge SC to settle pending habeas corpus petitions</a></div>&quot;Because once surrender is executed, the opportunity for meaningful judicial intervention may become illusory. Courts cannot protect rights retroactively after the person is already beyond reach. Ang hinihingi lang naman natin, Mr. President, ay makatarungan at makatwiran, sapat na panahon upang makalapit sa hukuman at sapat na pagkakataon upang maupagtanggol ang sarili. This is not obstruction, Mr. President. This is not delay for delay&#x27;s sake. This is the minimum requirement of Constitutional fairness. Justice to be legitimate must be both firm and fair, and fairness demands that before the irreversible act of surrender, the Filipino citizen, any Filipino citizen, be allowed to invoke the protection of Philippine courts,&quot; Marcoleta said, adding that this is not just about the Duterte case alone.&quot;What is truly at stake is the enduring protection of every Filipino, his constitutional rights whenever the tentacles of international prosecution touch our domestic sovereignty. This resolution does not obstruct justice. It does not shield wrongdoing. It simply demands that prior to surrender or extradition, a Filipino be given reasonable time to access the courts. Is this not the very essence of due process, Mr. President. Even under our extradition laws involving bilateral treaties, we do not simply hand over individuals overnight. There are hearings. There are remedies. There is judicial scrutiny. Why should surrender to an international tribunal be treated with less caution than extradition to another state?&quot;Marcoleta said the Philippines is willing and able to prosecute crimes for humanity.&quot;First, it has criminalized crimes against humanity under Republic Act 9851. The Supreme Court has designated special courts to try cases under this law. It has designed new writs  to facilitate investigation, prosecution and prosecution such as the Writ of Amparo and the protection of witnesses and victims. There are government agencies funded and manned to investigate crimes under this law. Isinama pa dito ng Pangulo ang Human Rights Commission, ang Department of Justice, at lahat ng mga hukom ay binibigyan po ng panahon na kakailanganin nila mag-training sila, upang sa ganun may sagawa ang pagpapatupad ng batas na ito na ginawa mismo ng ating legislature.  Our willingness and preparedness to prosecute crimes against humanity was recently expressed by the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations in its commentary dated April 12, 2023 on the revision of the definition of crimes against humanity. Mr. President, our government reiterated that under our law, our national law the Philippines shall exercise jurisdiction over persons, whether military or civilian, suspected or accused, or other crimes against humanity, regardless of where the crime is committed, provided any of the following conditions is met: The accused is our citizen. The accused, regardless of citizenship or residence, is present in the Philippines. And the accused has committed the said crime against a Filipino citizen. Our government also agreed that each competent authority shall proceed to investigate whenever there is reasonable ground to believe that acts constituting crimes against humanity have been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.&quot; Marcoleta stressed this is a clear assertion of the principle of complementarity that should rule out an extraordinary rendition of a Filipino citizen to the ICC.&quot;Preparado po ang ating bansa, ang ating korte, even our prosecutor services. Preparado. Samakatuwid the primary jurisdiction rests in our country. Complementarity will only come in kung wala na po tayong kakayahan na isagawa ang nararapat para akusahan, ilitigate ang lahat ng mga kasong sinasaad sa ating batas,&quot; Marcoleta said.He explained the effect of adopting the resolution.&quot;Kung halimbawa, Mr. President, inadopt natin ang resolusyong ito. Ano ang susunod na hakbang, Mr. President? Halimbawa, nag-issue ng warrant of arrest ang ICC sa isa sa kasama natin dito sa chamber na ito. Ano ang magagawa ng isang resolution, Mr. President? Ang resolution ba will have the effect of notifying all agencies concerned, like the PNP or the DOJ, na magdahan-dahan kayo, huwag kayong magdalos-dalos, huwag kayong padalos-dalos kasi nagsalita na ang Senado. The sense of the Senate has been declared na ayaw natin, na kailangang panagutan muna ang ating Saligang Batas, ang umiiral na batas tungkol dito, na ang primary jurisdiction ay ating bansa. Papasok lamang ang ICC o kung sino man under the doctrine of complementarity, hindi kailanman papasok, Mr. President, dahil nga ang ating mga hukuman, ang ating mga piskalya ay handa at willing and able to do their functions,&quot; Marcoleta said.Marcos took exception with the prospect of foreigners passing judgment on Filipinos.&quot;Ang hustisya na ipinapataw ng dayuhan, hindi hustisya--ito ay pagpapahiya. Ito ay pang-aalipin. At mga kababayan ko, hindi tayo alipin. Tayo ay Pilipino. At kung Pilipino ka, hindi mo isusuko ang iyong kapwa Pilipino, hindi mo isusuko ang iyong pagiging Pilipino,&quot; Marcos said. &quot;Mga kababayan, kung may kapatid kang nasa panganib, ipapasa mo ba siya sa kamay ng iba? Kung may kaibigan kang pinararatangan, hahayaan mo bang ibang tao ang humusga sa kanya, habang nakatali ang kanyang kamay at wala siyang laban? Kung ang iyong ama, matanda at may sakit, ay kinakaladkad palabas ng inyong sariling tahanan, manonood ka na lamang ba?&quot;&quot;Today, we are confronted with the prospect that the same course of action may again be undertaken,&quot; Marcos said.Citing a past Senate inquiry on the arrest of Duterte last year, Marcos  stressed that  judicial intervention by Philippine courts is indispensable before the Government may arrest a Filipino citizen within our territory and transport him to another jurisdiction and that any Filipino citizen arrested in this country without local judicial proceedings retains the right to seek redress before Philippine courts.&quot;These are not technicalities. These are constitutional imperatives. No degree of legal engineering, semantic maneuvering, or strained interpretation should be permitted to circumvent these guarantees,&quot; Marcos said.&quot;The 1987 Constitution is unequivocal. Article III, Section 2 of the Bill of Rights provides that “no warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be personally determined by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce.” The “judge” contemplated by the Constitution can only be a Philippine judge. Article VIII, Section 1 vests judicial power in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. The International Criminal Court is not “such lower court” established by Philippine law,&quot; Marcos added.Marcos noted that Article 59(2) of the Rome Statute itself requires that the arrested person be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority of the custodial State. Paragraph 3 further grants the person the right to apply for interim release before that authority.&quot;&quot;Only Philippine courts may issue a constitutionally-valid warrant of arrest enforceable within our jurisdiction and any person deprived of liberty within Philippine territory without such judicial authority has the right to seek redress before our courts—whether that person be a private citizen, a former President, or a senator. To hold otherwise would reduce the guarantees of our Bill of Rights to mere parchment, and would erode the judicial power solemnly vested by the Constitution in the Philippine judiciary.&quot;&quot;Sabi nila, batas ang dapat manaig. Tama. The law must prevail. But whose law? Our law or theirs? Since when did the Philippines become a province of The Hague? Tayo ba ay isang bansa na may sariling batas? O isa na lang tayong alipin na naghihintay ng utos? Kung kaya nilang gawin ito sa isang dating Pangulo, kaya rin nilang gawin ito sa sino man sa atin. If they can march into our house, take one of our own, and drag him before their courts—then what stops them from doing it again? What stops them from doing it to you? To me? To any of us?&quot; she also said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/11/vp-sara-duterte-calls-ex-pres-rodrigo-dutertes-arrest-state-kidnapping-2339">VP Sara Duterte calls ex-Pres. Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s arrest &#x27;state kidnapping&#x27;</a></div>Estrada stood up for due process in Philippine courts. &quot;Malinaw din ang nakasaad sa ating Saligang Batas na ang bawat akusado ay may likas na karapatan sa due process at sa presumption of innocence hanggang mapatunayan kung mayroon nga silang pagkakasala sa batas. Hindi natin maaaring isantabi ang ating sariling mga korte at ang soberanya ng ating bansa sa harap ng anumang internasyonal na proseso. Filipinos should be tried in competent Philippine courts. Karapatan nilang madinig ang kanilang panig, kahit ano pa ang inaakusa sa kanila. Naniniwala ako na patuloy na gumagana at matibay pa rin ang pundasyon ng ating justice system at matitiyak na dadaan sa tamang proseso ang lahat, alinsunod sa mga umiiral na batas,&quot; Estrada said. &quot;Ang resolusyong ito ay hindi lamang para sa mga kasamahan nating senador na pinangalanan sa mga kaso sa ICC, kundi para sa lahat ng Filipino na maaaring maharap sa ganitong sitwasyon. Ang bawat mamamayan ay dapat bigyan ng pagkakataon upang makapaghain ng legal na remedyo sa ating mga lokal na hukuman bago sila isuko o i-extradite.&quot;Padilla raised the specter of Filipinos being judged by non-Filipinos.&quot;Napakasakit po para sa ating mga Pilipino na namnamin natin na meron po tayong mga kababayan na nasa ibang bansa at doon dumadaan sa isang paglilitis. Nililitis ng dayuhan. Napakasakit pong mapanood. Hindi ko nga kayang panoorin na meron isang huwes, merong mga abugadong prosecutor, iba&#x27;t ibang lahi na kababayan natin ang gusto nilang bigyan ng paghuhusga,&quot; Padilla said. &quot;Ngunit, ang pakikipagtulungan sa ibang bansa ay hindi dapat nangangalugan ng pagsuko ng ating sariling jurisdiksyon at pagtalikod po sa ating mga korte. Dahil, ang mga korte. Dahil ang mga korte na yan, yan ang simbolo ng ating kalayaan.&quot;Consideration of the measure was suspended due to the absence of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano who was unwell, Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri said.

Marcoleta said the Philippines is willing and able to prosecute crimes for humanity.

Marcoleta said the Philippines is willing and able to prosecute crimes for humanity.

Senate begins tackling resolution urging ICC warrants to go through PH courts first

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Senate begins tackling resolution urging ICC warrants to go through PH courts first

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 24, 2026 07:19 PM PHT

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Updated February 25, 2026 08:18 AM PHT

Read More:

Senate

Minority bloc

ICC

Bong Go

Imee Marcos

Jinggoy Estrada

Rodante Marcoleta

Robin Padilla

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