By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter
A PHILIPPINE SENATE resolution calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to place former President Rodrigo R. Duterte under house arrest highlights the family’s enduring political influence, analysts said, even as the country is no longer a member of the tribunal.
Fifteen senators voted in favor of the measure, with three opposed and two abstaining. While the ICC has no obligation to act on the request, the vote underscored the former leader’s sway in Congress and the alignment of lawmakers with his daughter Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
“The resolution has no real effect on the ICC but is symbolic posturing that speaks volumes about the Duterte bloc’s ability to rally allies,” Arjan P. Aguirre, a political science lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“This is meant to intimidate the Marcos-Romualdez camp, sending the message that the Senate won’t cower to the President’s wishes,” he added.
The Senate recently shelved impeachment proceedings against Ms. Duterte after the Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional. She had faced allegations of fund misuse, unexplained wealth and destabilization efforts, including a supposed plot to assassinate President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. She denied all charges.
Mr. Aguirre said the Senate majority’s support for the house arrest resolution reflects “a pragmatic alignment” with Ms. Duterte ahead of the 2028 elections.
Gary D. Ador Dionisio, dean of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s School of Diplomacy and Governance, said the move shows the shifting political landscape. “Senators who are up for re-election and vying for higher office are strategically weighing their options,” he said via Messenger chat.
He described the resolution as a “very problematic symbolic request,” noting that the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute ended its obligations to the ICC. “It means Duterte still has an upper hand in politics and can still wield influence, perhaps even threaten victims and complainants,” he added.
The withdrawal does not affect the ICC’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed before the exit, such as those linked to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
The 80-year-old Mr. Duterte, arrested in March, faces three counts of murder in connection with his drug war. The charges cover killings attributed to the Davao Death Squad from 2013 to 2016, executions of “high-value targets” from 2016 to 2017 and dozens of murders and attempted murders during village raids from 2016 to 2018.
Mr. Duterte’s lawyers earlier told the ICC he was no longer mentally or physically able to take part in hearings, prompting the tribunal to postpone proceedings.
The ICC has been investigating Mr. Duterte and his cohorts for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with his anti-illegal drug campaign as mayor of Davao City and for the first three years of his presidency, when the Philippines was still a member of the ICC.
In 2018, the ex-President withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s founding treaty when it started looking into allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings. It took effect in 2019.
The war on drugs was his signature campaign platform that swept the tough-talking Mr. Duterte to power in 2016. More than 6,200 suspects were killed during police drug raids, based on the police’s own count.
Critics say as many as 30,000 people died in suspicious circumstances, most of them poor Filipinos who were put on community watch lists after they signed up for rehabilitation.