In a scenario once considered to be unthinkable for the head of the state chaired by the public and brutal killings of thousands of civilians, Rodrigo Duterte, former President of the Philippines, appeared at the International Criminal Court’s hearing through a video of a video on Friday.
The arrest of Mr. Duterte this week on charges of crimes against humanity, who arrived almost three years after he left his duty, is a crucial step for the Filipinos who sought justice for their loved ones.
Philippine authorities Arrested Mr. Duterte79, on Tuesday at Manila’s main airport after returning from a trip to Hong Kong, for days after ICC issued an arrest warrant by accusing him of crimes against humanity while he was president, as during his time as mayor The city was given.
He was arrested with the help of Interpol, acting on behalf of the ICC, because the Philippines are no longer a member of the court.
Mr. Duterte flew to the Netherlands on Wednesday and was transported to The Hague.
When he nominated himself for the president before he took his duty in 2016, Mr. Duterte vowing to order Police and army to find drug users and traders to kill them, promising immunity for those who spend orders.
In the first months of Mr. Duterte’s Presidency, police officers and Vigilants have inserted tens of thousands of people. Some victims were minors, and many were not included in drug tradeThe activists say.
Mr. Duterte has long been benefited from the culture of impunity. Until Tuesday, everything seemed to be just untouchable despite the public loan for wide violence.
Mr. Duterte’s campsite said his detention was illegal, claiming that ICC was not competent in the Philippines because the country withdrew from court while he was president.
The judges ruled that the court was competent because he investigated the killings that occurred while the Philippines were still a member of the ICC
The prosecution accused Mr. Duterte of crimes that it was said that it happened between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, when the Philippines officially withdrew from the court.
The Philippines are still a member of Interpol, an international police organization who can seek arrests on behalf of the ICC who helped the arrest of Mr. Duterte this week.
But Mr. Duterte may be more likely to remain out of reach of the court that it was not even a political turnaround in the Philippines for a time.
When Mr. Duterete’s six -year term ended in 2022, he was Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. followedthe son of a former dictator. Mr. Marcos ran along with Mr. Duterte’s daughter, Sarah Duterte, Vice President of the Earth.
That alliance has been breaking since then, and the two of them were spectacular dropped. At the beginning of his administration, Mr. Marcos indicated that he would not cooperate with the ICC, but at the end of 2023 his government allowed the court investigators to enter the country.
ICC faces a great challenge in trying to condemn Mr. Duterte. The court tried – and failed several times – to convic the leaders. Former ivory coast president, Laurent Gbagbo, was released in 2019 for his role in after the election.
In order to satisfy the standard of crime against humanity – the accusation faced by Mr. Duterte – the criminal prosecution must prove that the campaign of the violent “war against the drug” was part of the criminal plan led by Mr. Duterte and consisted of a “broad and systematic attack” against civilians on the Philippines.
Sara Duterte called her father’s arrest of political oppression, while Mr. Marcos said he was simply followed by an international convention in accordance with the Interpol order.
Approaching the arrest of Mr. Duterete, Mr. Marcos may try to eliminate Dutertes as a political force without any greater return stroke. (Mrs. Duterte runs the surveys for the 2028 presidential election)
This issue is expected to play a big role in the Central Party of the Philippines in May, which are considered to be an intermediary battle between Marcoses and Duteres.
