The Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS) on Wednesday denounced the Senate resolution asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to place former President Rodrigo Duterte under house arrest, calling it ‘an act of betrayal.’
‘Calling for his house arrest’ is not an act of mercy. It is an act of betrayal. It endangers families still fighting for justice. It would prove, once again, that in this country, the powerful are protected while the powerless are left to suffer,’ the statement of the human rights lawyers group read.
The group further slammed the resolution citing the Rome Statute, which does not allow interim release if the accused may still pose risks to the proceedings, victims or witnesses.
‘In the past, the ICC has denied the request for interim release because the accused possessed influence and power that may endanger victims and witnesses. The Senate’s resolution today is living proof of Duterte’s continuing influence and his allies’ ability to use institutions of government to interfere in proceedings pending before the ICC,’ IDEALS continued.
IDEALS warned that the approval of the resolution is a sign of the dangers of Duterte’s ‘enduring grip on power’ should he be granted any freedom in the middle of his trial.
On Wednesday, the Senate voted 15-3-2 to adopt a resolution to place Duterte under house arrest should medical findings prove that regular detention will worsen his medical condition.
The former president has been under the ICC’s custody at the Scheveningen prison in The Hague awaiting trial for accusations of crimes against humanity during his administration’s ‘war on drugs’ from 2016 to 2022.
IDEAL also pointed out the irony behind the Senate’s ‘plea in the name of ‘humanitarian’ concerns,’ pointing out that the same ‘compassion and mercy’ were not present for the ‘thousands of Filipinos [who] were slaughtered in Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.’
‘The Senate has undertaken no concrete measures to assist the families of victims: failing to investigate, failing to provide pathways for access to remedies, failing to protect and ensure the safety of surviving family members,’ IDEAL stated.
‘Yet for Duterte-the man facing not just one but three counts of crimes against humanity for orchestrating systematic killings of civilians under his watch-the Senate suddenly finds its voice. Is this compassion or privilege at work?’ IDEAL added.
The group further pressed that the Senate must instead show compassion to the victims of the drug war.
‘True compassion should belong to the families left behind: the mothers who lost children, wives who lost their husbands, families who lost fathers and loved ones-not to the man who enabled their deaths and still wields power through his children and political allies,’ the group declared.