Solicitor General affirms Duterte's arrest, surrender to ICC as legal

The Philippine government acted in accordance with both international law and Republic Act No. 9851 when it arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte in January and turned him over to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Berberabe gave updates on the Office of the Solicitor General’s (OSG) submissions before the Supreme Court (SC) in connection with the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Duterte’s children and the petition for certiorari related to his arrest on March 11, 2025.

“The OSG maintained that the government acted in accordance with both international law and Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9851 (the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity),” the statement read.

“It stressed that the legal requirements for surrender of the former President were met, namely: (a) another court or international tribunal is conducting the investigation or prosecution; (b) surrender is in the interest of justice; and (c) surrender complies with applicable laws and treaties,” it added.

The OSG also maintained that “the former President’s rights and privileges were respected throughout the process” of his arrest and turnover to the ICC.

“He was accompanied by counsel, and family access was not restricted,” it added.

In January, the OSG asked the High Court to deny the Duterte children’s consolidated petition for being moot and for utter lack of merit.

It said a writ of habeas corpus should not be issued because it would have no “extraterritorial effect,” since Duterte is already in The Hague, Netherlands.

The Duterte siblings, however, claimed that the petition is not moot and remains valid.

In March 2025, the Duterte siblings sought a writ of habeas corpus to secure the former President’s release from the ICC detention center after he was surrendered by Philippine authorities.

The 80-year-old former President’s confirmation of charges hearing will begin on Monday, February 23.

His defense counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, said Duterte “will not participate in the confirmation hearing through video-conferencing.”

“Nor did the former President willingly appear by way of such technology at his initial appearance,” Kaufman told GMA Integrated News.

Meanwhile, the kin of victims of Duterte’s war on illegal drugs will personally attend the confirmation of charges hearing against him and will also hold solidarity activities outside the ICC.

Duterte is currently detained at the ICC Detention Center in Scheveningen in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his war on illegal drugs as former President and as ex-Davao City mayor. — NB/JMA, GMA Integrated News