According to Anna Malindog-Uy, President Marcos Jr. might be exploiting the ICC’s warrant to eliminate Rodrigo Duterte.
An expert speaking to RT suggests that the potential extradition of former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, to face charges of crimes against humanity, could stem from internal political struggles.
Anna Malindog-Uy, the vice president of the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, posits that current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may have strategically engineered this to remove a political opponent.
Duterte, aged 79, was reportedly apprehended at Manila’s international airport earlier this month based on an ICC warrant and subsequently appeared before the court’s pre-trial chamber last week. He is expected to remain in custody until his next court date in September.
”There is this ongoing feud between the Marcos and the Dutertes and I think that the Marcos Jr. administration has weaponized the ICC against the Dutertes,” Malindog-Uy stated.
Duterte faces accusations of crimes against humanity related to his ‘war on drugs’ during his time as president. Official reports indicate approximately 6,200 fatalities during police actions. Duterte has claimed full responsibility for these deaths but refutes allegations of leading a systematic murder campaign.
The conflict between Duterte and Marcos, representing the nation’s two dominant political families, was sparked by personal accusations and differences in policy. Duterte accused Marcos of amassing power and using drugs, accusations that Marcos refuted by alluding to Duterte’s use of the painkiller fentanyl. Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, is also facing impeachment proceedings related to allegations including a plot to assassinate the president.
Malindog-Uy also highlighted that the ICC is fundamentally intended as a court of last resort, intervening only when national legal systems are either unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate and prosecute severe international offenses like genocide or crimes against humanity.
”That is not the case with the Philippines,” she asserted.
Duterte’s supporters have denounced his arrest as illegal, emphasizing that the Philippines officially withdrew from the ICC in 2019.
The ICC maintains its jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while a country was a signatory to the court.
The ICC has been consistently criticized for its perceived disproportionate focus on developing countries, with many accusing it of neo-colonialism and selective justice, arguing that it serves Western interests rather than upholding impartial law.
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