Sen. Imee Marcos has filed a proposed measure which she dubbed as the “President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act,” which seeks to prohibit the extraordinary rendition of Filipinos to foreign jurisdictions which are not recognized by the Philippine government and without a warrant of arrest issued by a local court.
Filed on Monday, Marcos said Senate Bill No. 557 aims to prevent similar arrest and turnover of Filipinos to foreign jurisdictions just like what the Marcos administration did to former president Rodrigo Duterte last March 11.
“These abuses by the authorities in the arrest and turnover of FPPRD (former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte) may very well be committed against other individuals. Thus, it is necessary to make it exceedingly clear – if it is not yet clear already – that arresting an individual for the purpose of turning him or her to a foreign jurisdiction without an order and a warrant issued by a Philippine court is against the Constitution and is punishable under the law,” Marcos said in the bill’s explanatory note.
“Furthermore, to effectively deter future incidences of extraordinary renditions, it is necessary to empower the State to institute proactive measures, such as banning the entry of foreigners associated with foreign jurisdictions whose authority to investigate, arrest, prosecute, or punish persons found within the Philippines is not recognized by the country,” she added.
She also said that it is essential that properties and funds owned or controlled by foreign jurisdictions in the country “be frozen in order to weaken their capability to commit extraordinary renditions.”
Under SBN 557, offenders of the measure will be meted a prison term ranging from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 20 years, and will pay a fine as high as P10 million.
The bill also states that victims of extraordinary rendition, whether before or after the bill was signed into law, shall be entitled to appropriate remedies in local courts.
It tasks the Department of Foreign Affairs to “exhaust every diplomatic channel” to ensure that victims of extraordinary rendition are repatriated to the country and that “judgments of the Philippine court shall be given effect.”
Marcos reiterated her previous statements that what the government did to Duterte is considered as an act of extraordinary rendition since he was surrendered to the ICC without the due process that detainees are entitled to.
She also repeated that the government’s actions were unlawful because there was no order from any local court authorizing them.
“Philippine authorities tried to justify their actions on the word ‘surrender’ under Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.’ However, authorities conveniently ignored that the surrender or extradition process thereunder must be pursuant to a treaty or extradition laws. Neither was applicable,” she added.
She insisted that there was nothing in the law which authorized the Philippine government to arrest any person without a warrant issued by a local court and to deliver the same to a foreign jurisdiction without an order issued by a Philippine court.
Meanwhile, in an interview in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Marcos said she supports the resolution filed by Senators Christopher Go, Ronald dela Rosa and Robin Padilla asking the Philippine government to push for the interim release of Duterte in the form of a house arrest in the Hague, even as as she expressed doubts that such a request will be granted by the ICC.
“That’s why we have to gather evidence, defend the former president in this process by the ICC. Maybe we can prove his innocence by the evidence and through prayers,” she said in Filipino.
Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte assailed the spread of AI-generated photos of her father in social media, saying he is not “malnourished” and hospitalized like how he is being portrayed.
“I saw a photo that looks like my father is in a hospital bed and he has a hospital bracelet and nametag of the hospital. That photo is not real,” she told supporters at The Hague in Filipino.
While there are no photos released from his detention, the Vice President said her does not look malnourished like in the photos although he has really lost a lot of weight. “He doesn’t look weak. He’s just really skinny,” she said.
She also thanked her family’s allies in the Senate for filing resolutions calling for her father’s interim release. “As I said, only the lawyer can comment on the Senate resolution whether it will be useful for the case or it is not useful for the case, but the family is praying for interim release,” she said. – With Wendell Vigilia
