Marcoleta insists Rodrigo Duterte's ICC arrest 'illegal'

Senator Rodante Marcoleta stood pat Wednesday that the arrest and detention of former president Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, Netherlands is "illegal," expressing his position as he urged former Foreign Affairs secretary Enrique Manalo to look into the matter.

Manalo was asked about Duterte's arrest while the Commission on Appointments (CA) committee on foreign affairs considered his nomination as Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations in New York. 

Now that the former president is detained in The Hague, Manalo assured that the Philippines will continue to promote its commitment to human rights agreements.

During his interpellation, Marcoleta asked Manalo about his position regarding Duterte's arrest within the context of international law. 

The senator said, "In my humble personal view, the arrest, the detention, and the potential prosecution of former president Duterte in The Hague is illegal. Well, I'm basing my opinion within the limits and context of the Rome Statute."

Manalo, in response, said the Philippines has no official contact with the International Criminal Court (ICC), as the country withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019 after The Hague-based tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration's drug war.

"Nevertheless, the Philippines will always remain committed to all the human rights conventions and agreements that we are parties to and we will also of course, follow our own national domestic laws," the former secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

"It's in that context that we will work to see how we can promote the various commitments that all countries have to human rights conventions. And it's in that context that we will work, this is as far as my position is concerned in New York, that would be the basic thrust that I would seek to undertake," he added. 

Manalo also pointed out that President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has expressed openness to having discussions with regard to the Philippines rejoining the ICC. 

Marcoleta further said the ICC "did not observe its own regulations [and] rules" when it arrested and eventually transferred Duterte to The Hague, maintaining that the former president should be tried in the Philippines instead. 

"I'm expecting na dahil naman sa tungkulin mo sa United Nations, baka makapag-tanong tanong ka naman kung 'yung naganap na pangyayari ay talagang regular o dapat nating bigyan ng masusing pag-aaral. Baka naman nagkamali ang nakagawa ng ganito," he said. 

(I'm expecting that because of your position at the United Nations, you might be able to ask there whether what happened was really regular or we should give it a thorough study. Maybe the people behind the arrest made a mistake.)Manalo acknowledged the points of the senator. 

Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11, based on a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC. 

He is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague for charges of crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings during the drug war. 

During the Eleksyon 2025 campaign, Marcoleta raised questions regarding the validity of the ICC-issued warrant of arrest against Duterte.

Along with other key personalities, Marcoleta later led a signature drive for Duterte's release. — VDV, GMA Integrated News