Metro Manila, Philippines – The children of former President Rodridgo Duterte continued to ask the Supreme Court to facilitate the return of their father from International Criminal Court (ICC) as their petitions were not moot.
In November, the high court ordered parties involved in the habeas corpus petitions related to Duterte’s arrest to file memoranda to explain whether the controversy was already irrelevant, and whether the court must exercise restraint.
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, through counsel Harry Roque, and Veronica Duterte, through lawyer Salvador Panelo, submitted their memoranda on Monday, Jan. 5. Both lawyers were former presidential spokesmen.
Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, represented by Tolentino & Associates, filed his memorandum on Dec. 29.
Duterte’s children said the arrest, surrender to the ICC, and detention at The Hague of their father were illegal and unconstitutional.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Solicitor General, in its Jan. 5 memorandum, prayed for the denial of the petitions as they were moot and lacked merit.
In March, Duterte was arrested by Interpol through an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity for murder in relation to his bloody war on drugs.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I has yet to schedule the confirmation of charges hearing, where it will be decided whether the former Philippine leader’s case can stand trial.
It was postponed after the defense claimed that Duterte suffers from cognitive deficiencies, but prosecutors told judges that he was fit to stand trial, citing the unanimous findings of an independent panel of medical experts.
