PROTRACTED DETENTION
FORMER President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will most likely be spending the rest of his life in detention at the prison facility of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.
Primarily because a trial for mass murder alone will take an average of five to six years, House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega of La Union said
“He is facing 43 counts of murder in the crimes against humanity case. One conviction alone for each count (or killing) is more than enough to put him away,” Ortega said.
The 79-year-old former Chief Executive will be turning 80 on March 28 this year.
Last March 7, the Philippine National Police (PNP) helped the International Police serve the ICC arrest warrant that three judges have issued, when Duterte was on his way home to Manila in March 11 after a short visit to Hong Kong, where he reportedly campaigned for his senatorial candidates.
“At least in ICC, we are assured of a very fair trial where nobody – both in the camp of Duterte or even the Philippine government – can exert any form of influence for the judges to rule in their favor. For one, judges were neither appointed by Duterte nor President Marcos,” Ortega pointed out.
Under ICC rules, a conviction for one murder alone can earn the former leader at least 30 years incarceration, in the minimum, or a life sentence, in the maximum. The global court, on the other hand, is not a tribunal tasked to try single murder cases, but mostly “crimes against humanity.”
Some other dictators even face charges of genocide, where countries are engaged in a civil war
“So, even if you credit and apply, say the last five years of trial, then it would still be a net of 25 years. He will be 105 years old by then. And that is for one murder case alone,” Ortega explained.
Worse, he said the ICC rules provide that defendants should be present at all times, regardless how long it takes. “Unlike in our case, where bail can sometimes be granted, there is no trial in absentia in ICC. He (Duterte) has to be there for the whole duration of the trial, just like everybody else.”
Ortega said the Duterte ICC precedent should serve as a lesson to world leaders.
“We have to bear in mind that power is only temporary. Therefore, we should not abuse power because power is not forever. World leaders should avoid hubris but should rather practice humility. Presidents come and go, and even dictators fade away too,” Ortega stressed.
“As public officials, we have to use our power in the right way and we should always be fair,” he added.
