CHIEF PRESIDENTIAL Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile on Tuesday said the legal troubles of former President Rodrigo Duterte are not related to Philippine laws and should not be blamed on the government.
An arrest warrant, issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was served by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and local police on Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs during his tenure as mayor and president.
“The current legal problem of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte is not caused by Philippine laws. His legal problem is caused by laws enforceable by the International Criminal Court (ICC),” Enrile said in a statement posted on social media.
The ICC has been investigating Duterte’s alleged role in killings during his term as mayor of Davao City and as president.
The charges include accusations of extrajudicial killings, which have drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations and the international community.
Enrile stressed that it was incorrect to blame the government for Duterte’s legal situation, emphasizing that the investigation and arrest order stemmed from the ICC and not from domestic laws.
“It is not correct to blame the Philippine government for the current legal problem of ex-PRRD,” Enrile said.
The Palace official advised Duterte’s legal team to obtain a copy of the charges filed against him by the ICC to better understand why an arrest order was issued.
“His lawyers should endeavor to secure a copy of the ICC charges against him so that they will know why he was ordered to be arrested by the ICC,” he said.
“Philippine domestic laws have nothing to do with his current legal problem,” he stressed.
The government earlier said it would not cooperate with the ICC investigation against Duterte, noting that the Philippines has since withdrawn from the Statute in 2018.
However, it said that the country would be obliged to act in its obligations to the Interpol. (Darryl John Esguerra)
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