Palace defends legality of Duterte's arrest under RA 9851

Malacañang defended the legality of former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest on Thursday, citing Republic Act 9851 during a press briefing.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro emphasized that Section 17 of RA 9851 allows surrendering suspects or accused individuals to international courts under applicable extradition treaties but clarified that no treaty is required for the Philippines to surrender an individual to an international court like The Hague.

Senator Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, questioned why the Philippines would act as a province for foreign entities such as The Hague during a probe into Duterte's arrest.

Castro stressed that the Philippines remains an independent country and does not intend to be a province of any other nation, including China’s Fujian province.

The Palace official assured that President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. does not want Malacañang to object in the ongoing Senate probe and will cooperate with the committee.

Duterte was arrested on March 11 after returning from a trip to Hong Kong, facing charges of crimes against humanity for his deadly drug war, and appeared via video link before ICC judges on March 14.