The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP)-Laban on Saturday said that the International Criminal Court (ICC), aided by the Philippine government, decided to make former President Rodrigo Duterte its ‘whipping boy’ to divert attention from corruption scandals and systematic failure.
This statement, penned by deputy spokesperson Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, came after the five-member of the Appeals Chamber of the ICC on Friday rejected the interim release of Duterte, which upheld the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I to keep the former president detained by the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands while investigation is ongoing. The PTC I found out that Duterte’s release would pose risk to witnesses, evidence, and integrity of the investigation.
The PDP-Laban said that while it was hopeful that the interim release appeal would be granted, the latest decision of the ICC was expected. It added that they ‘hoped for the best, but expected for the worst.’
‘As the ICC continues to experience a crisis of credibility and confidence around the world for its double standards, its decidedly liberal woke orientation, demonstrable bias against Asian and African states and financial and moral scandals involving several of its key officials, it desperately needed a trophy to bolster its sagging fortunes,’ the political party, which was chaired by Duterte, said in a statement.
‘It has decided that Duterte will be its whipping boy, aided and abetted by the present weak and compliant Philippine government itself in need of something to divert attention away from massive corruption scandals and systemic failure of governance,’ it added.
With this, the PDP-Laban said that it will continue to pray for ‘favorable outcomes’ for Duterte amid his continued detention in the ICC.
The defense team laid down three arguments in relation to his interim release: it argued that the PTC Chamber I erroneously found that Duterte poses a risk; the PTC I erred in its rejection of the guarantees proposed by the State willing to accept the former president; and that the PTC I failed to consider humanitarian reasons in determining his right for interim release.
These three grounds were then rejected by the Appeals Chamber.
In a separate statement, Malacañang Palace said that it ‘respects’ the rejection of Duterte’s interim release.
Duterte is currently facing three counts of murder over 49 killings for his alleged role in forming a death squad that led to killings of individuals suspected of using or selling drugs and being members of drug syndicates.
He has been under the custody of ICC since his arrest in March over crimes against humanity which he allegedly committed during his administration’s bloody war on drugs. Based on government data, the war on drugs claimed around 6,000 lives, but data from human rights groups said that real numbers reached more than 20,000.