Imee’s ‘PRRD bill’ limits transfers to foreign custody

Metro Manila, Philippines - Senator Imee Marcos has filed a bill titled the “President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act,” which seeks to penalize the transfer of an individual to foreign entities without the person’s consent or a local court order.

Marcos said the bill aims to prevent cases of “extraordinary rendition,” or the transfer of individuals to foreign jurisdictions without due process. She cited as an example the Marcos administration’s highly controversial move to surrender Duterte to the custody of the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands on March 11.

“It is necessary to make it exceedingly clear - if it is not yet clear already - that arresting an individual for the purpose of turning him or her over to a foreign jurisdiction without an order and a warrant of arrest issued by a Philippine court is against the Constitution and is punishable under the law,” Marcos wrote in the explanatory note of the bill filed Monday, July 14.

Under the proposed measure, a person within Philippine territory may only be arrested, detained, and transferred to the custody of an international court, tribunal, organization, or foreign state if the following conditions are met:

+ There is an active treaty recognizing the foreign entity’s authority to investigate, prosecute, detain, or enforce judgment against the individual;

+ The person has given written and voluntary consent to be transferred, or a local court has issued an order allowing the transfer;

+ An arrest warrant has been issued by a competent Philippine court.

The bill also provides that any investigation, arrest, detention, or other legal action carried out at the request of a foreign entity must have prior authorization from both the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government - provided a valid treaty is in place.

The same conditions apply to any form of government assistance extended to a foreign entity in locating or pursuing an individual within Philippine territory.

Penalties under the bill range from six months to 20 years in prison, depending on the specific provisions violated. Individuals formally charged under the proposed law will also have their assets frozen.

Foreign nationals conducting unauthorized investigations or arrests in the Philippines may have their visas canceled.

The bill also seeks relief for victims of extraordinary rendition, mandating the Department of Foreign Affairs to exhaust all legal remedies to secure their return.

Sen. Marcos, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s sister, is a known staunch supporter of Duterte. Earlier, other Duterte allies - Senators Bong Go, Bato dela Rosa, and Robin Padilla - filed a resolution urging the Senate to adopt a unified stance calling on the Marcos administration to negotiate with the ICC for Duterte’s transfer to house arrest.

President Marcos has repeatedly maintained that Duterte’s arrest and transfer to the ICC was lawful.