Palace on Imee bill vs. handing over Pinoys to int'l court: Good luck

Malacanang on Thursday wished Sen. Imee Marcos luck on her filing a measure seeking a ban on arresting or detaining any person in the Philippines and then transferring them to the custody of an international tribunal without a warrant from a local court.

''Trabaho naman po ng isang senador na gumawa ng makabuluhan na batas para sa taumbayan, sa ikauunlad ng bansa, hindi para sa pansariling kapakanan. So, good luck po,'' Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said. 

(It is the job of a senator to craft laws that are relevant to the people, for the progress of the country, and not for selfish interests. So, good luck.)

In the explanatory note of Senate Bill No. 557, also dubbed the President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act, Imee Marcos called the arrest and turn over of the former president to the International Criminal Court “abuses by the authorities,” which may also happen to others.

"What took place on that fateful day was an extraordinary rendition—the transfer without due process of a detainee to the custody of a foreign jurisdiction," Imee Marcos said.

Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11, based on a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC, a move that has since been criticized as unlawful by the senator.

The sister of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has said there were glaring violations in Duterte's arrest.

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

Amid speculations of a supposed arrest warrant to be issued against him in connection with the war on drugs, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said, "If they want to commit the same mistake again, then go ahead."

"They can do that. If they want to make another mistake, ‘yung ginawa nila kay Pangulong Duterte ay napakalaking mistake ‘yun [what they did to Duterte was a big mistake]. At kung gagawin na, [if they are] willing to do the same mistake again, then they can do the same,” Dela Rosa said.

Dela Rosa made the remark after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Dela Rosa would receive the same treatment as Duterte if the ICC indeed issues another warrant in relation to the bloody drug war.

Dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the Duterte administration and was the chief implementer of the war on drugs, also said that he had no idea regarding the alleged warrant against him. 

“I'll cross the bridge when the bridge is constructed,” Dela Rosa said. 

“Sige lang, wala man akong problema diyan. Gawin nila anong gusto nilang gawin. Go ahead,” he added. 

(Go ahead, I have no problem with that. Do whatever you want to do.) 

He also maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, considering that the country already withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019. He said this gives the government “more reason” not to implement the warrant, if any. –with Giselle Ombay/NB, GMA Integrated News