President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reaffirmed that the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte was carried out in accordance with all required procedures, dismissing any notion of it being unlawful.
In a press briefing at the Palace late Tuesday, Marcos noted that there was a strong legal basis for serving the arrest warrant and informing him of his rights.
"We followed all the legal procedures that are necessary. So, I’m confident that if in further examination, you will find that it is proper and correct," Marcos explained.
Furthermore, Marcos stressed that Duterte's arrest did not violate sovereignty, pointing out that the Philippines has consistently upheld its position of non-cooperation with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation.
"Mayroon tayong contact sa kanila, natural. Pero no, not on an official level. We didn’t help them in any way," he added.
He reiterated that the arrest was carried out in fulfillment of the country’s commitment to Interpol, with the only difference being that it was issued by the ICC.
The former President's close ally and former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Atty. Salvador Panelo, described the arrest as unlawful, arguing that Duterte was denied the opportunity to meet with his lawyer and question the legal basis of the arrest.
Meanwhile, Meanwhile, Marcos confirmed that the authorities are holding a physical copy of the arrest warrant, stating that he personally received it from Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla at 3 a.m on Tuesday.
"I looked at it and we went back and forth, 6:30, he wrote me again and he said, 'We have it already. We have the warrant of arrest from the Interpol'," said Marcos.
"And I said, 'Okay, we’ll put all our plans into place and sige, let’s proceed as we had discussed.' That’s what happened," he added.
He highlighted that there is a definitive document that outlines the basis for the authorities' actions in arresting Duterte.
The former President was arrested upon arriving in Manila from Hong Kong at 9:20 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 3.
He was then placed in government custody at Villamor Air Base, where he stayed prior to his departure for The Hague in the Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity.
Malacañang earlier revealed that hours before Duterte landed in the country, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the ICC warrant, prompting the Prosecutor General of the Department of Justice to enforce it.
