JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said government is providing protection to witnesses who will testify against former president Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In an ambush interview, Remulla said there are three or four witnesses who are getting government protection.
“Ang pagkakaalam ko tatlo o apat ang tinutulungan natin (As far as I know, we are helping three or four people). I think there will be more,” he said.
“We will protect the witnesses. Whatever it takes to protect the witnesses, we will do it. Because the prosecution would rely on these witnesses,” he added.
He said the witnesses are being handled by the “witness protection people,” referring to personnel of the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP).
Remulla said it was the ICC that requested the government to provide protection to the witnesses. But there was no official communication on paper from the court.
“There were calls from the ICC to the Witness Protection Program. That’s how everything started, they did not talk to me. In fact, I don’t even know them, I just let our WPP people handle it because that is their job,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
Remulla said the government will secure the witnesses while they are in the country, but once they are in the Netherlands to testify, they will be turned over to the tribunal.
“We are working as a government protecting the people. It is the role of the government to protect people, whether they are witnesses for the ICC or the general population, we try to protect the people,” Remulla said.
NOT CONTRADICTORY
Remulla was quick to clarify that cooperating with the ICC to secure witnesses is not contradictory to the government’s official position that the country is no longer under the jurisdiction of the international court since Manila has withdrawn from the Rome Statute.
The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC.
Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the Rome Statute in 2018 after the ICC Office of the Prosecutor started investigating his administration’s alleged role in the extrajudicial killings that attended the crackdown on the illegal drugs trade. The withdrawal was formalized in 2018.
Remulla said: “It does not mean that (recognizing ICC jurisdiction). It just means that we recognize the ICC is in charge of the case. Because we surrendered former president Duterte to the ICC. That’s just it.”
“As I have said, we already chose not to pursue the cases and let the ICC pursue these cases. Given that, it becomes our obligation to help them because we are giving up our jurisdiction for their jurisdiction,” he added.
He acknowledged that proving the cases against Duterte is a challenge because of the influence his family wields, and because “the people who need to speak up are also involved in the crime. That’s why this is complicated.”
He added there were other significant challenges, including destroyed or absent evidence, and lack of police reports on the alleged extrajudicial killings.
“You don’t have a scene of the crime investigation, you also don’t have ballistics, you don’t have DNA. Everything that could be erased were erased so that the cases would not prosper or push through,” he said, adding “this is why this has reached the ICC.”
Duterte is set to appear before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 handling the cases against him on September 23 for the confirmation of the charge of crimes against humanity.
His lawyers have asked the tribunal to grant him interim release, saying he is not a flight risk and that his arrest and continued detention is not necessary to ensure the integrity of the investigation or to preclude the continued commission of crimes.
They also cited humanitarian consideration, saying he is already 80 years old.
They said a third country has agreed to accept Duterte if his interim release request is approved.
Vice President Sara Duterte has said Australia is one of the countries being eyed by the defense lawyers, while Remulla on Wednesday said a South American country would likely host the former president.
‘REJECT RELEASE BID’
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor and the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims (OPCV) have filed their opposition to Duterte’s bid for interim release.
OPCV’s Principal Counsel Paolina Massida’s submission came after the ICC Office of the Prosecutor filed a similar opposition.
The OPCV echoed the arguments raised by the prosecution in rejecting Duterte’s request, citing fears for the victims’ safety, as well as possible harassment by the former president, his allies and die-hard supporters.
It also held that Duterte’s continued detention remains necessary because of the “gravity of charges” and the fact that he has access now to a great part of the evidence and the identity of prosecution witnesses.
The prosecution panel has submitted several sets of evidence and documents to the defense team, which will be used during the trial.
“Considering the volatility of the security situation in the Philippines, the principal counsel submits that the interim release of Mr. Duterte will undoubtedly be an additional destabilizing factor, as well as a source of great concern for the victims and witnesses in the present case, some of whom have already reported being harassed by supporters of Mr. Duterte,” the 18-page document dated June 25 said.
“Considering that Mr. Duterte has been recently arrested, his interim release would be hard to fathom for the victims who have clearly expressed the view that he should remain in detention at the Court pending the pre-trial proceedings. For the victims, this is the only way of ensuring that he will face trial. Indeed, victims are extremely concerned with the prospect that Mr. Duterte could be released, particularly because there is a real risk that they face threats from the suspect and his supporters,” it added.
It likewise said the elderly Duterte still holds “considerable power” even though he is no longer the Philippine president, and members of his family hold influential positions in the country.
Duterte won the mayoral race in Davao City in the May 12 elections. His daughter Sara is the country’s vice president, while his son Paolo won his reelection bid as congressman of Davao City, and his other son, Sebastian, is the city’s vice mayor.
“Mr. Duterte is still very popular in the Philippines and commands widespread respect and obedience. The Duterte family has an undeniable continued influence in the Philippines, with strong supporters who are repeatedly calling for Mr. Duterte’s liberation, including in the numerous demonstrations in The Hague. These factors, in the principal counsel’s view, make it more likely that the suspect might abscond if released, even with conditions,” it said.
The OPCV also said that “little weight” should be accorded to Duterte’s personal commitment that he would return to court to face the trial if he will be granted interim release because he and his family do not recognize the jurisdiction of the court and have repeatedly claimed he was brought to The Hague illegally and by “extraordinary rendition.”
Duterte’s children have repeatedly said their father was kidnapped by Philippine authorities. Paolo, Sebastian and another child – Kitty – have filed petitions with the Supreme Court challenging his arrest and subsequent detention, saying the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the Philippines after its withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
“Mr. Duterte’s personal commitment should be afforded little weight, considering that the risk posed by these factors cannot be outweighed by the mere submission of the personal commitment of the suspect not to abscond from the proceedings. Such undertaking, commendable as it might be, is not and cannot be per se decisive but should rather be assessed and appreciated in light of all other relevant factors,” the OPCV said.
“It is also relevant to note that the suspect’s daughter, currently Vice President of the Philippines, relayed her father’s words during a demonstration in his support held in March 2025 in The Hague, saying that Mr. Duterte told her that he was brought to the Court illegally, by extraordinary rendition, and that he does not have to answer for the case against him at the Court,” it added.
The OPCV also rejected Duterte’s argument that he should be granted interim release because of his advanced age.
It cited a previous ruling of the ICC that interim release relating to humane and compassionate considerations are granted only when there is “acute justification” such as a medical need, a memorial service for a close family member, or a visit to a close relative in extremely poor health and whose death is believed to be imminent.
