Solicitor General Guevarra asked to 'assess himself' over refusal to defend govt in Duterte case

Kung mag-a-apply si VP Sara, it’s only because she needs access to the [former] president and as a family member, mukhang every visit requires communication with the detention facility,

he explained

Hindi po magiging abogado ng presidente si VP Sara dahil po sa Saligang Batas natin ay mayroong pagbabawal sa pag practice ng probisyon. Ang kanyang karapatan pong bumisita ay bilang anak,

said Roque

I have already said that we will not return home without [former] President Duterte, so let’s just say that our prayers are that he will be released at the soonest time possible and we will take all steps necessary to bring him home as soon as possible,

said Roque

Whether the arrest is illegal or not, it will not deprive the ICC of jurisdiction to hear and decide on the complaint against former president Duterte,

Carpio said

If he can’t defend the government and the officials who responded to Interpol’s request, that is his opinion,

Castro said

If that is the desire of the senator, she is free to do that,

Castro said in English and Filipino in a press conference

It was very clear on the manifestation of SolGen Menardo Guevarra. He stated that he believes the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, and that is also the stand of the president. But he never mentioned in his manifestation that the government cooperating with the Interpol was wrong,

Castro said in Filipino

Salvador Paneloformer chief presidential legal counsel

The arrest, detention, and even the abduction of Duterte, based on a warrant issued by a court that has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, is illegal and unconstitutional,

said Panelo who has condemned the ICC's actions, characterizing them as an attack on Philippine sovereignty

Francis Escuderosenate President

The Senate would not allow any of its members to be arrested inside its premises, especially if it is in session,

Escudero said in Filipino

This is continuous. We’ve been doing our work on the EJKs. It’s slow grinding police work, law enforcement work that we have to pick up because the reports are not complete. We have to recreate many of the records and many of the things that happened,

Remulla said

Whoever is the respondent in the Supreme Court, they cannot fail to respond. They must defend what they did and defend it based on the law,

Castro emphasized

He (Panelo) will make that statement favorable to their case or to their position when in fact it is very clear from the statement of SolGen Guevarra that he is only discussing the jurisdiction,

Castro explained

It was a kidnapping. According to Article 59 of the Rome Statute, if an accused is to be surrendered to the ICC, he must first be presented to a 'competent judicial authority' — a local Filipino judge and court — to validate the warrant, confirm the identity of the accused, and ensure that his rights were upheld during the arrest,

Roque said

If we base what the Supreme Court said in their decision, although it's an ‘obiter dictum’ but still a pronouncement by the Supreme Court, that all crimes that occurred that are covered by the ICC and according to the Rome Statute that occurred prior to the withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction,

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said during a Palace briefing

The arrest and transfer of Duterte to The Hague does not mean the government will stop its investigations at the local level,

Clavano said,

We are avoiding that. It’s different in the ICC, it’s different here. We don’t want to mix them together,

he said in Filipino

The rule in the ICC is very clear. Even if you are illegally arrested by the surrendering state, the ICC will still acquire jurisdiction over you once you are handed over. The ICC has nothing to do with how the surrendering state carried out the arrest,

Carpio said

Just as a State that is not, or is no longer, a Party to the Statute cannot refer a situation to the Court under Article 13(a) of the Statute and thus trigger the Court’s exercise of jurisdiction (though it may accept the jurisdiction of the Court under Article 12(3)), the Prosecutor cannot commence the process of triggering the jurisdiction of the Court once a withdrawal has become effective and the State in question is no longer a Party to the Statute,

the dissenters indicated

It would be better if it's the SolGen himself who would assess himself if he is still worthy to stand as Solicitor General,

Castro stated

Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, is a national of a nonmember state, and he was arrested within the territory of the Philippines, a state that withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019, thanks to Duterte himself,

he added