MANILA (UPDATED) — Malacañang on Thursday reiterated that the arrest of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on an ICC warrant complies with the country’s domestic laws

In a Palace briefing, Malacanang Press Officer Claire Castro invoked Section 17 of RA 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, which stated that “authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any, or to another State pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties.”

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 Castro said that it is clear in the wording of the law that the need for an extradition treaty refers only to the surrender of the accuse to another state, and not to the "appropriate international court."

 “Maliwanag po kahit po si Justice Carpio ay ipinaliwanag po ito na maaari po nating i-surrender ang sinuman sa international court comma – ibig sabihin, hindi po tayo kailangan na mayroong treaty or extradition treaty na pag-uusapan basta ang inilagay po lamang doon ay to surrender to the international court at iyon lamang po ang tinutupad natin,” Castro said.

 “Kasi iyong mga iba nagtatanong bakit daw binasa iyong pinakadulo, pero mapansin ninyo po doon sa batas na iyon may nakalagay po “Or to the state in application or applying the extradition treaty,” ibig sabihin, kapag sa state lang natin isusuko at saka natin gagamitin iyong extradition treaties pero kapag to the international court may comma eh so walang kondisyon doon. So, we have to stick kung anong sinasabi ng batas," she added.

 The statement comes as the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by the President’s sister Senator Imee Marcos, conducted a probe on the ICC arrest of former President Duterte. 

During the hearing, Marcos asked whether the Philippines had become a province of The Hague, the Dutch city where the International Criminal Court is located.

"Sabi nila, batas ang dapat manaig. Tama! But whose law? Ours or theirs? Since when did the Philippines become a province of The Hague? Kung kaya nila itong gawin sa isang dating Pangulo, sino na lang ang susunod? If they can march into our house and take one of our own, what stops them from doing it again, and again -  to you, to me, to any of us? What protection can we guarantee, our OFWs seeking out living overseas? This is bigger than Duterte. This is about our dignity as Filipinos," Marcos said at the opening of her committee's investigation into the arrest of the former leader."Ngayon pa lang ito nangyari sa buong kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Pero paano kung mauulit? Paano kung sa susunod, ibang Pilipino naman ang kinaladkad papalabas?"

The senator, an ally of the former leader and sister of current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., slammed the arrest.

"Ito po ang napanuod ng buong bansa at ang tanging tanong, bakit natin isinuko ang isang kapwa Pilipino? Kung ang iyong kapatid ay inuusig, ipapasa mo ba siya sa kamay ng iba? Kung ang iyong ama, o 'di kaya ang lolo mo pa, matanda na at may sakit, kinakaladkad palabas ng inyong tahanan, manonood ka ba na parang wala lang? Ganito ang nangyayari ngayon. Isinuko natin si Rodrigo Roa Duterte sa dayuhan na para bang wala siyang sariling bayan, na para bang hindi na natin kayang humusga sa sarili nating tahanan." Marcos said. "Here we are, watching as a fellow Filipino — a leader, a father, a grandfather, a man who served this country — is taken, not by his own people, but by outsiders who claim the right to judge him."

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 “Hindi po natin ninais na maging probinsiya ng kahit anuman dahil po tayo ay isang independent country,” Castro responded.

 The Palace official noted that the Philippines has never wanted to be part of any country.

 “Hindi po natin ninais na maging probinsiya din po ng Fujian, China. Never nating inisip iyan na maging probinsiya tayo ng anumang bansa. Nagpapatupad po lamang tayo ng batas at kung iyon po ang sinasabi po ni Senator Imee siguro iyon lamang po ang paniniwala natin dahil kahit po sa panahon ngayon ni Pangulong Marcos ay hindi natin sinusuko ang anumang karapatan natin sa West Philippine Sea. Siguro doon lamang po makikita natin na hindi po natin ibibigay ang anumang karapatan natin kahit kaninuman.”

 Castro meanwhile assured that President Marcos Jr. does not want Malacanang to object in the ongoing Senate probe.

Marcos says Duterte arrest part of PH’s obligation to Interpol

 “Napag-usapan po iyan ([with President Marcos Jr] at kung anuman daw po ang gagawing paghi-hearing sa Senado hindi naman po natin ito tututulan dahil para ipakita sa taumbayan na tayo po ay sumusunod lamang sa batas,” she said, “Kapag po kasi nagtatago, ayaw makipag-usap, lahat ng mga officers niya ay sasabihing walang alam ay mas lalo tayong magpapakita na may itinatago tayo. So, iyong mga dating nagagawa noong panahon na hindi pinapapunta ang mga Cabinet members kapag pinapatawag sa Senado – hindi po iyan gagawin ng Pangulo. Para lamang po tayo sa katotohanan at maipakita kung ano ba ang ginawa natin nang naaayon sa batas.”

Duterte was arrested last March 11 after returning home from a trip from Hong Kong in the face of rumors an ICC warrant had been issued.

The ICC warrant for his arrest says that as president, Duterte created, funded and armed death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.

 He was brought to The Hague in the Netherlands on the same day to face charges of alleged crimes against humanity for his deadly drug war.

  Duterte on March 14 appeared via video link before ICC judges in a hearing branded by the Palace as a "fair trial." He is set to attend a September 23 hearing to confirm the charges against him.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday said that failures in the Philippine justice system pushed families of drug war victims to seek justice through the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He said the victims' families turned to the ICC because they could not find justice in the country.

"I think that's one thing that nobody wants to acknowledge is that there was a failure of our justice system for a long time and they had to file their cases in the ICC to get any attention at all from anybody that cared," Remula said during a Senate committee hearing on foreign relations regarding the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Because for the longest time ang biktima po, mga namatayan or pamilya nilang napatay o napaslang sa drug war ay wala hong mapuntahan kaya dun po sila nagpunta sa ICC. - with a report from Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News