“No defendant accused of crimes against humanity has ever been granted a provisional release”
SO FAR, all the pleadings of the defense team representing FPRRD have been denied by the International Criminal Court.
The demand for inhibition of two of the judges was refused by the judges, then denied by the whole court.
But a tricky situation has just arisen.
The defense team is now requesting for the provisional release of FPRRD to a third country which it claims has apparently agreed to host the former president under any conditions set by the court which FPRRD promised to abide by.
Under existing rules, there is apparently no blanket prohibition for a temporary release so long as the conditions set by the ICC can be met by the defendant. A provisional release is therefore entirely possible.
Not surprisingly, the lawyers representing the private complainants are strenuously objecting and disagreeing to the assertions of the defense that FPRRD no longer has any political clout or influence in the country.
They cited that the current Vice President is his daughter and a son remains a member of Congress.
They also pointed out that the youngest son was just elected Vice Mayor of Davao City and could remain as Mayor considering that FPRRD who was just elected as Mayor may not be able to assume the position due to his incarceration.
To the administration, however, a temporary release is a situation that it would rather not like to have and that is understandable.
As of now, the reaction of the administration has been muted at best.
If it will publicly object to the release, it could run counter to its official narrative when FPRRD was brought to The Hague that it was only complying with the request of the Interpol for the arrest of the former president.
In a way, it is now in a dilemma and must navigate the issue cautiously.
This is because if FPRRD will succeed in being provisionally released, he could still be a thorn in the neck of the administration notwithstanding all the conditions that could be set by the ICC.
As we know, the defense team promised that FPRRD has agreed not to use any electronic devices, issue any statements and basically keep his mouth shut to limit communications with the multitude of his followers in the country.
Nothing, however, was mentioned about visitation rights.
In The Hague where he is confined, visitors are strictly limited by number and schedule.
This is the reason why Senator Imee Marcos was not allowed to enter the confinement facility.
The question of supervision is also paramount.
Will it be the third country that has agreed to host him do the supervision or will it still be the ICC.
Regardless whether one is a supporter of the former president or not, one thing going for him with regard to this request for provisional release is his advancing years and current medical condition.
He is now 80 years old and is reported to have some kind of a neuromuscular disorder.
Keeping him locked up for years may affect his health and ability to stand trial and since he has been charged, we would all like to see the trial go thru so that his guilt or innocence could be determined.
He himself has time and again said it when he was here.
If the administration was thinking that it was able to wash its hands off the Duterte thorn by his being transferred to The Hague, it is beginning to look it is not the case.
In fact, the contrary seems to be true. Even if the guy is half a world away, under detention and unable to say anything, he apparently continues to sway events in his country.
What should the government do and how should it react to the Duterte defense team’s request for a provisional release to a third country?
Right now, its current nonchalant response to questions arising from the provisional release request appear to be working and should therefore just wait.
After all, the request will still have to be decided by the whole court.
Besides, no defendant accused of crimes against humanity has ever been granted a provisional release.
But the big mystery is the name of the third country that agreed to host FPRRD.
