Palace on Duterte’s plea for temporary release: We’ll follow ICC’s ruling

Former President Rodrigo Duterte (File photo from BING GONZALES)

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said it would respect whatever decision the International Criminal Court (ICC) makes on the appeal for interim release filed by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal counsel.

At a briefing on Friday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said, “It is now in the hands of the ICC what their decision or resolution on that matter will be.”

READ: Rodrigo Duterte appeals for an interim release from ICC detention

But she also raised the question on whether or not Duterte’s legal team admitted that the former president committed a crime.

Castro is specifically referring to a section of the interim release appeal dated June 12.

This portion argued that Duterte “does not pose an objective risk of flight, nor is his arrest necessary to ensure the integrity of the investigations or to preclude the continued commission of crimes.”

“He must, as a result, be immediately released from ICC custody,” it also read.

Castro then asked during the briefing, “In one way or another, the counsel admitted that the former president committed such crimes?”

“If that’s their strategy, I hope they can convince the ICC judges and that they won’t later claim that their promises were just a joke—like what happened with the jet ski promise,” Castro said.

An interim release, also known as a provisional release, is a temporary discharge of an accused who the court has detained.

READ: ICC prosecutors: Duterte’s jurisdiction challenge ‘fundamentally flawed’

Duterte is currently being held in custody at the ICC detention facility in The Hague, Netherlands pending his trial for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration’s drug war.

He was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11 and was flown out of the country on the same day.

The former president had his pre-trial hearing on March 14, while his confirmation of charges was scheduled for September 23./apl