Palace signals potential freeze of Duterte’s assets

Malacañang has stated that it will cooperate where necessary to ensure that justice is served, including the potential freeze of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s assets.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said any request from the ICC would be directed to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

“We will probably point this out to the AMLC,” Castro said during a briefing at the Palace on Tuesday.

“If there is an issue or if the ICC issues an order, we will refer it to the AMLC and submit it if necessary,” she added.

Castro emphasized that the government is committed to ensuring reparations for the victims of Duterte’s war on drugs. “If there’s a need for that, the AMLC doesn’t discriminate. So, if it’s necessary to provide reparation or damages to those victimized, then justice must be given,” she stressed.

She reiterated that justice must be served to all affected parties.

Malacañang affirms ICC jurisdiction

In the same briefing, the Malacañang official clarified that the ICC retains jurisdiction over crimes committed between 2011 and 2019, when the Philippines was a member of the Rome Statute, despite the country’s withdrawal from it in 2019.

“If we base what the Supreme Court said in its decision — though it’s an ‘obiter dictum’ — but still a pronouncement by the Supreme Court, all crimes that occurred prior to the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute are under the ICC’s jurisdiction,” Castro said.

‘Everything is on social media… from the first hearing to the last hearing.’

This comes after Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo questioned the validity of the ICC’s jurisdiction, arguing that the Philippines’ membership was not official because it was never published in the Official Gazette.

In response, Castro refuted Panelo’s claim, explaining that if the membership had not been valid, there would have been no need for the Philippines to withdraw from the Rome Statute.

“If it didn’t take effect, why did they have to withdraw in the first place? It means it was ratified, so it took effect,” she stated.

Castro emphasized that the Philippines’ membership in the ICC was legally valid, and the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute was based on this ratified agreement.

The Philippines joined the ICC in November 2011 during the Aquino administration. In 2016, Duterte initiated his controversial war on drugs. To prevent further ICC investigations into his administration, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018, with the withdrawal taking effect in 2019.

Duterte was arrested and transferred to The Hague on 11 March to face charges of crimes against humanity. He appeared before the ICC on 14 March.

House won’t cooperate

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives will not comply with any ICC request since the Philippines is no longer member of the international court, according to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

“Actually, we haven’t received anything. As the QuadComm chairman [House QuadComm lead chairperson and Surigao del Norte Representative Barbers] said, even if they write to us, we cannot comply because we are no longer a member of the ICC,” Velasco told reporters in an interview at the Senate.

He pointed out that all the relevant documents are already public, with the hearings available for viewing on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.

“Everything is on social media… from the first hearing to the last hearing,” he added.

Velasco’s comments came in response to a question on what the House would do should the ICC make a request regarding the case.

To recall, the House’s mega panel conducted hearings to investigate alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s administration.

During one of the QuadComm hearings, retired police colonel Royina Garma testified that Duterte ordered her to recruit officers to implement an anti-narcotics campaign similar to the so-called “Davao model.”

Garma explained that the Davao Model involved a reward-for-kill scheme with three levels of payment: a reward for killing suspects, funding for operations, and reimbursement of operational expenses. She also revealed that Duterte requested a police officer from the Iglesia Ni Cristo to carry out the scheme.

In the same hearing, former police colonel Edilberto Leonardo confirmed the existence of the reward system for officers who killed drug suspects.