(UPDATE) FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte has requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) to release him to an undisclosed country while he waits for his trial to start.
The request was submitted on June 12 by Duterte’s lawyer, Nicolas Kaufman, who told the tribunal that a specific government has shown its “advance and principled agreement” to receive Duterte.
Kaufman cited Article 60 of the Rome Statute, allowing a temporary release under certain conditions. Kaufman said the particular government would facilitate Duterte’s release, based on the conditions set by the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I.
An interim release entails a temporary discharge of an accused individual detained by the ICC. The tribunal has had such agreements with countries like Belgium and Argentina.
Kaufman said Duterte does not fulfill any criteria to justify continued pretrial detention. “He likewise does not pose an objective risk of flight, nor is his arrest necessary to ensure the integrity of the investigations,” he said.
The fact that the ICC prosecution did not oppose the request for interim release acknowledges Duterte is not a flight risk, Kaufman said.
Duterte’s defense team stressed that the proceedings are at an early disclosure stage, with limited access to sensitive information. They added that Duterte would comply with restrictions on public engagement and communication outside his immediate family, and abstain from internet and electronic device usage.
Kaufman also cited humanitarian considerations, pointing to Duterte’s age.
Duterte’s lawyers have also requested the Pre-Trial Chamber to order his immediate release under suitable conditions.
At least 421 documents, nine photos, and nearly 16 hours of audio and video recordings have been compiled as evidence against Duterte.
The ICC has previously sought an arrest warrant for Duterte based on allegations of “crimes against humanity of murder, torture and rape” in the Philippines between November 2011 and March 2019.
An arrest warrant was issued on March 7, and made public on March 11. Duterte was arrested the following day and promptly flown to The Hague.
He appeared before the ICC via video link on March 14.
A hearing for the confirmation of charges has been scheduled for Sept. 23.
In a related development, Malacañang on Friday shrugged off Vice President Sara Duterte’s statement that she would only “let go” of Sen. Imee Marcos once former president Duterte returns to the Philippines.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was “not privy” and “has nothing to do” with the supposed “contract or agreement” between the vice president and the senator to bring home the former president.
“Was this about Sen. Imee Marcos as her hostage? Well, that is an agreement between the two — the Vice President and Sen. Imee Marcos. The President had no participation in the agreement they made,” Castro said during a briefing.
In her Independence Day speech in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Vice President Duterte said she always brings Senator Marcos to her engagements because “she is like a hostage,” and she would be the one bringing Duterte back to the country because it was her brother, the President, who sent her father to The Hague.
In jest, the Vice President said she would only let go of Senator Marcos once her father is back in Davao City.
Castro said the President only wanted to focus on his duties, especially about addressing the current power crisis in Siquijor.
“What we only wish to emphasize is that the President, as he said, remains focused on his work and continues to perform his duties,” Castro said.
Without naming names, Castro said if only the vice president talked to “her friend,” the power crisis in Siquijor could have been prevented from worsening.
The Siquijor Island Power Cooperative, which supplies electricity in the province, is owned by the Villar Group of Companies.
During last month’s elections, the vice president supported the senatorial bid of Senator-elect Camille Villar, despite Villar running under the administration’s Alyansa Para Sa Bagong Pilipinas.
