FORMER president Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa yesterday sought the intervention of the Supreme Court (SC) and asked magistrates to stop the government from cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has ordered the former chief executive’s arrest.
The 94-page petition for certiorari and prohibition with prayers for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary prohibitory and mandatory injunction was filed by lawyer Israelito Torreon.
The petition was filed hours after Duterte was arrested based on the warrant issued by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 that stems from the crimes against humanity cases filed against the former president and several others in connection with the bloody drug crackdown during his administration.
Authorities have said that more than 6,200 were killed at the height of the drug war, but local and international human rights organizations cited a much higher figure of more than 20,000, including 16,355 killed in vigilante-style killings.
Duterte and Dela Rosa’s petition also appealed to the High Court to order the immediate release of the former president.
“This is a petition which calls for the respondents to cease from cooperating with the International Criminal Court,” Torreon told reporters after filing the petition.
Asked on what grounds the petition relied on, Torreon cited Article 127, Paragraph 2 of the Rome Statute.
“It states that after we have withdrawn from the Rome Statute, Philippines is no longer under the jurisdiction of the ICC. If you note, we already filed our note verbal and as a matter of fact, our written notice to the United Nations that we are no longer a party to the International Criminal Court as early as March 17 of 2018,” he said.
He explained that what was opened by the ICC Office of the Prosecutor was only a preliminary examination and it was not sanctioned by the pre-trial chamber of the ICC to proceed with an investigation.
“Therefore, there was no case ‘under consideration’ when the Philippines’ withdrawal took effect in 2019,” he said.
Torreon stressed that the preliminary examination was purely prosecutorial in nature and did not equate to a formal judicial proceeding.
“The Philippines is no longer a party to the International Criminal Court, then it has no business anymore cooperating with such body, including the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol. So, that is our prayer, and in the interim, we are requesting, we are earnestly praying, to the Honorable Supreme Court to grant us a temporary restraining order restraining the Philippine government, the Philippine respondents from cooperating with the ICC and to release outright from custody our beloved former President Rodrigo Duterte on the ground that his detention is illegal, unconstitutional, and has no basis under the law,” Torreon said.
Torreon said the country’s justice system is working and functioning and that any case against Duterte and Dela Rosa should be filed in local courts.
“We should be able to obtain justice within our territory and not by other personalities or entities which are far from us,” he said.
The petition asserts that any act of cooperation by Philippine authorities, whether by allowing ICC investigators into the country, sharing intelligence, or facilitating arrest warrants, constitutes a direct violation of the nation’s sovereignty.
“The government’s cooperation with the ICC blatantly disregards the principle of complementarity. The Philippines has a functioning judicial system. There’s no basis for a foreign tribunal to step in,” he stressed,
He said Dela Rosa is also a party to the ICC case since he is one of the four police officers being investigated in connection with the drug war killings.
“He is one of those being investigated so that is why we are also filing this for him because he is actually my client. He is my principal client. It’s only today that we decided to include President Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” he said.
The petitioners also asked the SC to stop the government from enforcing or assisting in the enforcement of any ICC-issued warrants or red notices.
Torreon warned that unless the High Court acts swiftly, the Philippine government risks undermining its own sovereignty and legal system.
“We are calling on our own leaders to respect Philippine law. We are no longer a member of the ICC. There is no legal, moral, or constitutional reason to continue cooperating,” he said.
Named respondents in the petition are Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla, PNP Chief Rommel Marbel, PNP-CIDG Chief Nicolas Torre III, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo, and AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.
In a statement, the Office of the SC spokesperson said a special raffle has been conducted on the petition after it was filed at 4:27 pm.
“Given the significance of this case, and upon the Chief Justice’s instruction, a special raffle has been conducted pursuant to Rule 7, Section 7 of the Interal Rules of the Supreme Court,” it said.
Under the Internal Rules, a special raffle of cases is held in cases involving an initiatory pleading praying for the issuance of a TRO or an urgent and extraordinary writ such as the writ of habeas corpus or amparo, and the case cannot be included in the regular raffle.
