Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before their meeting at the Great Hall of People in Beijing on April 25, 2019. (Photo by Kenzaburo Fukuhara , Pool/AFP/File

MANILA — Malacañang on Friday said it did not have any information regarding claims that former President Rodrigo Duterte sought asylum from China prior to his March 11 arrest by Philippine authorities on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.

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“Wala po kaming ganoong impormasyon na natanggap. Hindi po iyon ang mga lumalabas na info na dumarating sa Palasyo,” Palace Press Secretary Claire Castro said in a televised briefing.

“Walang nakarating sa amin," she added.

Duterte was in Hong Kong on the weekend prior to his March 11 arrest. 

Several social media users have speculated that Duterte sought refuge from China but was rejected, which forced him to go back to the Philippines where he was eventually arrested.

Vice President Sara Duterte had already denied that her father applied asylum in China.

Duterte was arrested on March 11 and was sent to The Hague, Netherlands to face the crimes against humanity accusation before the ICC.

PALACE THANKS SENATE PANEL

Malacañang meanwhile thanked the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs for its recent probe, saying it was able to "clear" several issues regarding the controversial arrest of ex-President Duterte.

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“Unang-una po, nagpapasalamat po tayo na nagkaroon po ng Senate hearing patungkol dito. Mas naliwanagan ang tao, ang taumbayan kung ano ba ang nangyari,” Castro said.

Castro said that regardless of who planned the operation, the bottomline was that the serving of the arrest warrant complied with the law.

“Kung sino po ang nag-utos, wala po tayong personal knowledge diyan; kung ano po ang napag-usapan, wala pa rin po tayong personal knowledge diyan; kung naganap na po ang dapat na naganap, iyan po ay naaayon naman po sa batas,” she said.

EXPERT'S LEGAL OPINION

Joel Butuyan, one of the only five Filipino lawyers accredited by the ICC, supported Malacanang’s claim on the validity of the implementation of the warrant of arrest.

“Nakita naman po natin iyong pag-serve ng warrant of arrest, naka-video nga lahat iyong mga pangyayari. And kung ikukumpara natin iyong pag-serve ng warrant of arrest kay former President Duterte sa pag-serve ng warrant of arrest sa ordinary suspect or criminal sa Pilipinas, eh sobrang nakakalamang si former President Duterte," he said.

"In fact, ang daming privileges that was extended to him, over and beyond what is required by law. So, sa substance po, walang na-violate and valid iyong implementation ng warrant of arrest,” he added.

The Philippine government earlier said that authorities complied with the law in arresting the former President, contrary to allegations that Duterte was “abducted” and brought illegally to the ICC. 

“Unang-una, nandiyan iyong Republic Act 9851 which is actually a mirror image of the Rome Statute, ito iyong statute ng ICC and nakasaad doon sa may Article 17 ng RA 9851 na kapag may warrant of arrest na inisyu ang isang international court, mayroong option ang Pilipinas na i-surrender directly to the international court iyong suspect,” Butuyan said.

NO VIOLATIONS

The lawyer clarified that the arresting authorities were not duty-bound to bring Duterte before a court to assess the legality of the arrest and the basis for the ICC warrant as mandated by Article 59 of the Rome Statute.

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“Sabi ng ICC sa Ongwen case noong 2015, na there is no duty on the arresting country to follow the procedure under Article 59. So, hindi kinakailangang dumaan sa domestic judicial authority, for as long as iyong substance ng Article 59 is complied with, which is, iyong identity ng accused at saka kung respected iyong rights ng accused," he said.

"Anong nangyari sa pag-aresto kay former President Duterte – binasahan siya ng Miranda rights niya. So, that’s pursuant to our domestic law on arrest and then mayroon siyang abogado doon, hindi lang isa, dalawa,” he further said.

“So, iyong substance ng Article 59 were actually complied with, so talagang both under our local law and under the ICC statute [are] complied with; valid iyong implementation ng warrant of arrest.”

Butuyan also answered allegations that authorities conducted a “warrantless arrest” and “extraordinary rendition” against Duterte.

“Mayroon pong warrant of arrest and it was issued by an international court na naging miyembro tayo. So, hindi po totoong warrantless arrest ito, dahil talagang mayroong warrant covering the arrest of the former President,” he said.

“Iyong extra rendition (extraordinary rendition) ay iyong pag-aresto ng parang, isang terorista na isu-surrender sa isang country, sa ibang country, hindi sa international court ‘no. Doon, walang warrant of arrest iyon, iyong extra rendition, ito mayroon pong warrant of arrest issued by an international court and hindi ito country to country, so hindi ho extra rendition iyong nangyari dito,” Butuyan continued.

RED NOTICE VS DIFFUSION

The lawyer also explained that it also doesn’t matter whether Philippine authorities acted on an Interpol “diffusion” and not a Red notice in arresting Duterte, as long as the warrant of arrest served was valid.

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“Para sa akin, iyong Interpol actually is just an international coordinating organization, hindi siya talagang iyong may power to really have a warrant effected ‘no,” he said.

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“So whether it’s diffusion or red notice iyan, it doesn’t matter kasi talagang kung iyong red notice, binibigay iyan ‘shotgun’ sa lahat ng mga members ng Interpol; iyong diffusion, usually country to country iyan... Ang mahalaga is valid warrant of arrest iyong ibinigay ng Interpol sa atin regardless of how it gave it to us," he added.

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