No political instability as Duterte arrest is legal – House reps

MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the House of Representatives allayed fears on Wednesday that the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte would cause political instability, noting that the developments were legal and merely procedural.

During the press briefing, House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party list disputed claims by Duterte’s allies that he was kidnapped when local authorities assisted the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in enforcing the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest order — as the ex-president and his entourage were treated properly.

The arrest order against Duterte stems from the crimes against humanity case filed before the ICC due to his role in his administration’s drug war.

Kidnapping?

“I really don’t know why they can call that kidnapping.  It is only now that I saw a kidnapping with a blow-by-blow account.  It was even streamed online, right?  If that was kidnapping, I don’t know if that would have happened,” Acidre said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“They have been saying a lot of things, like they cannot face the victims directly. But they are lucky that his arrest was being livestreamed. Drug war victims did not have that chance, they just got knocks on their doors before being killed,” he added.

Acidre said that proper procedures in arresting an individual were observed.

“We saw it, there was a warrant, it was served. The Miranda rights were read. And then he was taken in custody, and then proper medical attention was given. And then the country is duty-bound to deliver him to the Interpol, which in turn will deliver the former president to The Hague,” Acidre noted.

‘Trying to grab attention’

Meanwhile, La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega said that it seemed Duterte was just trying to attract attention, adding that for the past two years, the ex-president and his camp had been trying to make noise and disrupt the country’s affairs — to no avail

“He is just trying to grab attention... They’ve been trying to do this to the Marcos administration, to the government for almost two years... But in the last few weeks, we have seen that the economy has been improving,” Ortega said.

“So for me, I think they will try to make noise. They will try to have their rallies. But I think they cannot directly cause any instability,” he added.

Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Raul Angelo Bongalon, a lawyer,  noted that provisions in the Rules of the Court were followed when Duterte was arrested.

“For those who are saying it’s an illegal arrest or in detention, I would like to inform Attorney [Salvador] Panelo of the provisions under the Rules of Court which states that — let’s read it — that ‘when making an arrest by virtue of a warrant the arresting officer must inform the person to be arrested of the cause of the arrest, and the fact that a warrant has been issued’,” Bongalon said.

“This means the officer is not required to have the warrant in their possession at the time of the arrest, and it states further that ‘and if the person arrested requests to see the warrant it must be shown to them as soon as practicable.’  These rules or particular rule under the Rules of Court was of course upheld and reiterated in a jurisprudence case decided by the Supreme Court,” he added.

Supporters cry political persecution

After coming home from Hong Kong on Tuesday morning, Duterte was stopped from leaving the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, as the Philippine National Police assisted the Interpol in enforcing the ICC arrest order.

However, Duterte, along with his allies and relatives, claimed that his rights were abused. In a post on his personal Facebook page, Duterte’s son, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, said that police officers were illegally detaining the former president.

“It seems to me that they are trying to murder the old man,” he claimed.

Duterte supporters in Davao City, their hometown, also protested what they called political persecution.

But on Tuesday, hours after Duterte’s arrest, Catholic priest Flavie Villanueva said that it was the former president who committed abuses while he was in power, allowing state forces to commit rights violations during his administration’s war against illegal drugs.

“This is what I have to say for those claiming Duterte was abused,” Villanueva said in an interview at the Sacred Heart Parish in Quezon City while holding up a copy of the ICC arrest order. “This is from the International Criminal Court. No man nor country can dictate its movements.”

Leaving on a chartered plane

After questioning the arrest, Duterte eventually boarded a chartered plane at Villamor Air Base, which left Manila for the Netherlands a few minutes after 11:00 p.m., Tuesday.

ICC is based in The Hague in the Netherlands.

As early as last Saturday, talks about the ICC possibly releasing an arrest order against Duterte mounted. During this time, Duterte and his entourage flew to Hong Kong to meet overseas Filipino workers.

While in Hong Kong, Duterte addressed the talks about the arrest order, saying that his actions during the drug war were for the benefit of Filipinos.

However, several official and independent investigations of the drug war have shown that there were many instances where innocent individuals were dragged into the anti-drug operations.

In August 2017, 17-year-old Kian delos Santos was summarily executed in Caloocan City even if he was not the original target of the operation.

The three police officers involved in the killing of delos Santos were convicted of murder.

(2025/03/12-23:36)