The Senate said on Monday that it will carry out a formal probe after ex-President Rodrigo Duterte was where he faces charges of having committed crimes against humanity.
Duterte, 79, has been accused of being responsible for many murders during his yearslong in which thousands of people were killed, according to rights groups.
Who initiated the Senate probe?
The probe, which will include a public hearing on Thursday where top police and other government officials will testify, was initiated by Senator Imee Marcos.
Imee Marcos is a sister of and also a close friend of Vice President Sara Duterte, the former president’s daughter, who .
“As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I am calling for an urgent investigation into the arrest of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, an issue that has deeply divided the nation,” Imee Marcos said in a statement on Monday.
“It is imperative to establish whether due process was followed and to ensure that his legal rights were not just upheld but protected,” she said, adding: “Our sovereignty and legal processes must remain paramount.”
What has the reaction to Duterte’s arrest been?
Shortly after Duterte’s arrest at Manila airport on March 11, Imee Marcos warned at a news conference that the detention of “poor President Duterte” could “only lead to trouble.” Later on Friday, she said, “I cannot accept what they did to [Duterte].”
Duterte’s lawyer Salvador Medialdea has told the court that the actions against his client were “pure and simple kidnapping.”
However, the arrest has been hailed by rights groups and families of victims in Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign.
Duterte is the first Asian former head of state to be charged by the , which is based in The Hague, the Netherlands. It has no police force of its own and relies on those of signatory states to make arrests on its warrants.
Edited by: Rana Taha
The post Philippine Senate to probe Duterte arrest, handover to ICC appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
