Chief justice cancels trip to the Netherlands

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo canceled his scheduled trip to The Hague, Netherlands, to sign the terms of reference with The Hague Academy of International Law, Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting said in a statement over the weekend.

Responding to social media posts and media queries, Ting said a special order was issued on March 10 designating Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen as acting chief justice effective March 12.

The order was issued in anticipation of Gesmundo’s official trip to the Netherlands for the signing of the terms of reference with The Hague Academy of International Law, a global institution dedicated to research and education in both public and private international law.

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However, Ting said the “special order did not take effect as the Chief Justice decided to remain in the Philippines.”

Gesmundo has led the virtual deliberations on petitions asking the Supreme Court to stop the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was turned over to the International Criminal Court last week to face charges of crimes against humanity.

TRO denied

The high court denied the temporary restraining order requested by Duterte and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa on March 11, the same day Interpol served the warrant of arrest against the former chief executive.

Upon Gesmundo’s instruction, the Supreme Court also conducted a special raffle for the petitions for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Duterte’s children, assigning the case to a member in charge for appropriate action.

Following the deliberation, the Supreme Court issued a show-cause order directing the respondents in the petition to explain within 24 hours why the writ should not be issued.