Duterte’s counsel: Petition for habeas corpus 'no longer workable'

The petition for a writ of habeas corpus which is expected to be filed by Veronica "Kitty" Duterte to bring back her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to the Philippines may no longer be "workable," his legal counsel Atty. Silvestre Bello III said Wednesday.

“Actually, sa tingin ko, hindi na workable ‘yung petition for habeas corpus dahil nandoon na, nilipad na eh," the former cabinet official said in an Unang Balita interview.

(Actually, I think the petition for habeas corpus is no longer workable because Duterte has already been flown out of the country.)

"That petition for habeas corpus, went with it ‘yung prayer for a temporary restraining order para sana ay mapigil nila ang pagkuha kay dating Pangulong Duterte... Eh wala, hindi nila hinintay. Wala namang action from Supreme Court," he added.

(What went with the petition for habeas corpus was the prayer for a temporary restraining order supposedly to block moves to take away Duterte. There was no action from the Supreme Court.)

The International Criminal Court on Tuesday confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant against Duterte over alleged crimes against humanity during his deadly war on drugs.

"Once a suspect is in ICC custody, an initial appearance hearing will be scheduled," said ICC spokesman Fadi Abdullah.

Gulfstream G550 aircraft (RP-C5219), which is carrying Duterte, left the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, Philippines on Tuesday at 11:03 p.m.

It arrived at the Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Wednesday at 4:03 a.m. (Dubai time) or 8:03 a.m. Manila time.

The same plane is expected to leave Dubai and arrive at the Rotterdam The Hague Airport on the same day.

Petition

Former presidential legal counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo had given information that his son, Atty. Salvador Paolo, Jr. would be filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on Wednesday morning against the Philippine government “for detaining a Filipino citizen, former President Rodrigo Duterte, kidnapping him, and surrendering him to a foreign institution.”

The petitioner would be Rodrigo’s daughter Kitty Duterte.

“The petition will ask the Supreme Court to compel the government to bring him back, and for it to account for its constitutional transgressions on the rights of PRRD, and its unpatriotic and abject surrender of the country’s sovereignty to ICC, that has no jurisdiction over the former,” Panelo said. 

Kitty also went on social media to lament the state of her father while on the plane.

“A flight lasting more than 8 hours but left with just a sandwich to eat?” Kitty wrote on her Instagram story with a screenshot of her video call with her father.

Vice President Sara Duterte also left the country on Wednesday morning to fly to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, following the arrest of her father Rodrigo.

In a message to reporters, the OVP said that the Vice President departed Manila at approximately 7:40 a.m., via Emirates flight no. EK 337, bound for Amsterdam. —VAL, GMA Integrated News