MANILA, Philippines – A senator’s hunt for answers could become the key that unlocks a former president’s prison door. In a stunning twist, details unearthed by Senator Imee Marcos’s own investigation are now being wielded by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyers to fight the power of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Whispers turned to shouts as lawyers defending Duterte revealed their strategy. They argue the ICC had no right to investigate the Philippines in the first place. And their proof? It partly comes from the work of Senator Marcos, the sister of the current president.
The defense team dropped a bombshell: a 38-page challenge filed on May 1st. Inside, they point to a letter President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself wrote back on December 15, 2023. In it, he promised Vice President Sara Duterte – the former president’s daughter – that the government would not help the ICC “in any way, shape or form.”
That promise was made public during Senator Marcos’s committee hearing just months ago, on March 20th. At the time, President Marcos seemed firm. He questioned the ICC’s power over the Philippines after the country officially left the court. “I am certain that all members of my Cabinet… will echo my views,” the President wrote then.
But times have changed dramatically. The once-strong alliance between Marcos and Duterte now lies in ruins. And former President Duterte isn’t just facing questions; he’s detained in The Hague.
Why the change? President Marcos Jr. now says arresting and sending Duterte to the ICC was about honoring the country’s duty to Interpol, the international police group. The ICC used Interpol to issue the arrest warrant.
Senator Marcos’s investigation dug deep into how the former president was arrested and handed over. She recently hinted that charges might even be filed against officials involved in what she calls an “illegal arrest.”
Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, confirmed the Senate probe could be vital. “Thank you to Senator Imee Marcos,” Vice President Sara Duterte declared at a recent rally. “She helped push for an investigation on the kidnapping of president Duterte… Thanks to her for helping us gather evidence.”
The core legal fight boils down to simple timing. Duterte’s lawyers insist the Philippines was not a member of the ICC when the court decided to investigate in 2021. The country, under Duterte himself, had already withdrawn in 2019 after the ICC started looking into his deadly “war on drugs” back in 2018. “A State must be a State Party at the time,” the defense lawyers stated plainly.
Senator Marcos remains defiant. She sees parallels to her own family’s past. “I won’t lose hope because this also happened to my father, to us,” she said, recalling being forced into exile. “We were kidnapped… It is important that we fight for this.”
With evidence gathered and potential charges looming against arrest officials, Senator Marcos hopes the questions about the ICC’s power and Duterte’s freedom will finally be heard. “It is our hope… we were able to get the sham facts, document testimonies,” she stated, believing the truth is on their side. The fight, it seems, is far from over.
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