'No such thing as head of state immunity': Former ICC judge on Duterte facing murder charges
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Wednesday (Mar 12) over his signature war on drugs campaign.
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Current and past heads of state will not have immunity for alleged crimes when they are before an international criminal tribunal, said former International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Raul Pangalangan.
This comes as former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody by the ICC in The Hague on Wednesday (Mar 12) to face murder charges over his signature war on drugs campaign.
The 79-year-old, who was earlier arrested in Manila on Tuesday, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
The ICC believes there are "reasonable grounds" to charge Duterte with murder as a crime against humanity, as an "indirect co-perpetrator" during his anti-drugs crackdown that saw thousands of purported dealers and users killed under mysterious circumstances.
“DRUG WAR” KILLINGS
Pangalangan, who served in the ICC from 2015 to 2021, said international criminal law has evolved “to bring the highest leaders of governments to be accountable for their actions”.
“There is no such thing as head of state immunity, and there is no immunity that attaches to the acts committed by, in this case, President Duterte, even at the time when he was president,” he told CNA’s Asia First on Thursday.
Duterte, who arrived at Rotterdam The Hague Airport on a chartered plane on Wednesday, will be brought before an ICC judge in the coming days for an initial appearance, during which the allegations will be detailed in court.
Pangalangan, who is also professor of law at the University of the Philippines, said the next stage will be the confirmation of charges, where Duterte’s lawyers are expected to make their objections, including whether the ICC has the jurisdiction to investigate the alleged crimes.
Duterte, in a video posted to his Facebook page on Wednesday, said he was prepared to accept responsibility.
His war on drugs campaign defined his presidency from 2016 to 2022.
During his six years in office, about 6,200 drug suspects were killed, according to the Philippine police. But activist groups believe the real toll was much greater.
The violence led the ICC prosecutor's office to open a preliminary investigation into deaths in the Philippines in 2018.
Shortly after, Duterte said the country would withdraw from the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute. The exit took effect in March 2019.
But under the Rome Statute, even if a state withdraws as a member, the ICC retains jurisdiction over crimes committed during the membership period.
LONG ICC BATTLE
Duterte’s lawyers have filed a Supreme Court petition pressing for his release and asking for the case to be heard in the Philippines.
“But I don't think it is for any domestic court to order the ICC to release a prisoner already within the jurisdiction of the court (ICC),” said Pangalangan.
“I imagine the Philippine courts will entertain the proceedings, I imagine they will hold the hearings,” he added.
“But at the same time, the ICC has acquired jurisdiction over the accused and ... it will proceed to hear the case all the way to trial and up to the moment of decision of whether to acquit or to convict him.”
Currently, Duterte is being held in a detention centre on the Dutch coast.
“The accused can be held pending trial if there is a risk the accused might disappear, (or) will not cooperate with the proceedings,” Pangalangan noted, while stressing that an accused’s rights to a fair trial are respected at the ICC.
“It is especially important for the ICC because we do not allow trials in absentia. In other words, we require the presence of the accused during the trial,” he added.
“There is the right of the accused to be presumed innocent, but there is a countervailing interest to ensure respect for the integrity of judicial proceedings.”
HIGH-STAKES POLITICAL RIVALRY
Observers said Duterte’s downfall is linked to the political feud between the Philippines’ Marcos and Duterte families.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had previously committed to ensure that the ICC had no jurisdiction in the Philippines.
But the political alliance between the country's two most prominent political families has fallen apart in recent times.
Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte, was impeached in February on charges of plotting to assassinate the president, among other crimes.
“It's a weak alliance to begin with,” said Ronald Holmes, professor at the De La Salle University’s political science and development studies department.
“It's largely meant for the purpose of securing electoral victory. They have competing interests,” he told CNA’s Asia Now.
On whether the Duterte dynasty would survive, Holmes said: “(Political) dynasties normally don't die in the Philippines. They fade away and then they recover.”
