SC may junk Kitty's habeas corpus petition — Drilon

The Supreme Court (SC) is likely to reject the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Veronica “Kitty” Duterte to bring back her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, to the Philippines, former Senate President and Justice Secretary Franklin Drilon said Sunday.

In a radio interview, Drilon explained that the jurisdiction of the SC is limited to the territory of the Philippines, adding that the person subject to the petition must be within the country.

“The Supreme Court will not rule on that because it would only embarrass the Court. There is a legal basis to dismiss the petition for habeas corpus since the Supreme Court's jurisdiction applies only within the boundaries of our country,” he said when asked about his opinion on the matter.

He continued, “The writ of habeas corpus can be applied only if the person subject to the writ is within the jurisdiction of the Philippines.”

The petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Kitty was submitted by Duterte’s former chief presidential legal counsel, lawyer Salvador Panelo, and his son, lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr., on March 12.

The older Panelo earlier said the petition is “against the Philippine government for detaining a Filipino citizen, former President Rodrigo Duterte, kidnapping him, and surrendering him to a foreign institution.”

In her petition, Kitty raised the issue of whether authorities in the Philippines can lawfully arrest and detain the former president based on an arrest warrant from the ICC.

Salvador Panelo maintained that the international tribunal no longer has jurisdiction in the country after the Philippine government withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2018.

To recall, the Philippines withdrew its membership from the Rome Statute in 2018 upon the order of then-President Rodrigo Duterte. The withdrawal took effect on 17 March 2019.

Duterte is suspected of murder qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011, and 16 March 2019.

‘Let’s wait’

Earlier this week, Silvestre Bello III, one of Duterte’s counsels, also suggested that the SC may reject the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, citing that the former president is already in the custody of the ICC.

Asked for a comment, Panelo said he would wait for the High Court to decide on the petition.

“Let’s wait for the SC to decide the petition,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE in a text message.

In the meantime, he noted that he would continue “articulating his defense and calling out the government to stop its constitutional aggressions or face a political upheaval from the Filipino people.”

Duterte was brought to The Hague immediately after being arrested on Monday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for his alleged crimes against humanity in relation to his controversial war on drugs.

He is currently detained at the detention center of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Scheveningen, The Hague, Netherlands. On Tuesday, it confirmed that it issued an arrest warrant against the former chief executive.

Barely a week after being arrested, he made his initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber 1 of the international tribunal, despite an attempt by Salvador Medialdea, his former executive secretary and one of his legal counsels, to move it to next week.

During his initial appearance, which lasted about 25 minutes on Friday night (Philippine time), Duterte, 79, was given a chance to appear via video conferencing platform in consideration of his long trip.

Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc announced that the hearing for confirmation of charges against Duterte will be on 23 September.