OFWs picket Consulate to laud Duterte’s arrest

 

Unifil's Balladares urges justice for all victims of Duterte's bloody anti-drug campaign

About 30 overseas Filipino workers took part in a protest outside the Philippine Consulate offices in Admiralty Wednesday, just hours after former President Rodrigo Duterte was flown to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity.

The protesters from Bayan Muna and Unifil-Migrante Hong Kong said they welcomed Duterte’s arrest and impending trial over the murder of thousands of Filipinos during his war on drugs.

“Wine-welcome po namin ang development na ito dahil sa matagal na panahon ay ipinagkait …ang hustisya sa mga biktima,” said Dolores Balladares of Unifil-Migrante.

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(We welcome this development because the victims were denied justice for such a long time).

Balladares added her group will not stop protesting until the 79-year-old former president is punished to the fullest extent of the law.

At the same time, she said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. should not be swayed by the “drama” and the influence of the Duterte family.

Basahin ang detalye!

“Dapat manindigan ang gobyernong Marcos na ibigay ang totoong hustisya sa mga biktima,” she added. (The Marcos government should remain committed to giving full justice to the victims).

The protesters held aloft posters calling on Duterte to be punished and for Marcos to be held accountable for not acting quickly to ensure justice for the victims of the bloody anti-drug campaign.

Protesters say Duterte and Marcos are complicit to the alleged murders

Meanwhile, reports that came in Wednesday night said the plane bearing Duterte had arrived in Rotterdam, Netherlands, where he was given a standard medical check-up before being transported by land to the ICC in The Hague.

At the ICC, he will be transferred to a detention cell where he will stay for a few days  before being brought before a judge.

The ICC’s arrest warrant says that while he was president between 2016 to 2022, Duterte created, funded and armed death squads that murdered suspected drug users and dealers.

Duterte was served the warrant on Tuesday morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila after he arrived from a trip to Hong Kong.

His family and supporters said the arrest was illegal as the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC, but detractors who lauded the move said the warrant was valid as the alleged killings happened when the country was still with the international court.

Lawyers representing his youngest daughter Veronica filed a petition for the writ of habeas corpus with the Supreme Court to secure the return of her father, but the motion has yet to be acted upon.

An earlier application for a temporary restraining order to be issued on security personnel who arrested the former leader was earlier denied by the SC, which said there was no sufficient ground to support it.

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Marcos confirms giving go signal for Duterte to face ICC trial

 

President Marcos holds press conference shortly after plane carrying Duterte had taken off

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has confirmed allowing his predecessor, Rodrigo R. Duterte, to be flown to The Hague in the Netherlands after local authorities received a warrant for his arrest from the International Criminal Court.

Marcos held a news conference shortly after Duterte left aboard a private Gulfstream jet late on Tuesday night.

''The plane carrying former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte took off at 11:03 p.m. this evening and exited Philippine air space," Marcos said in a news conference.

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"The plane is en route to The Hague in the Netherlands allowing the former president to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs,'' he added.

Marcos added Interpol Manila received a copy of the ICC’s warrant hours before Duterte arrived at 9:20am on Tuesday from Hong Kong, where he led a thanksgiving and political rally.

“Interpol asked for help, and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don’t do that, they will not – they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” he said.

Basahin ang detalye!

“This is what the international community expects of us as the leader of a democratic country that is part of the community of nations,” he added. 

Duterte and Medialdea aboard the private jet that is taking them to The Hague
(ABS-CBN photo)

Duterte flew out aboard a Gulfstream jet along with his lawyer Salvador Medialdea, an aide and a nurse.

Reports said the plane will stop over in Dubai, United Arab Emirates before continuing the journey to The Hague.

Earlier, Duterte was read the charges he is facing before the ICC, which are crimes against humanity and murder, after he was taken to the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City following his arrest at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He was also read the Miranda rights of the accused.

Duterte responded that he understood the charges, but he should not be arrested as the Philippines was no longer a member of the ICC. He also said the Supreme Court would definitely stop his arrest.

Videos taken by his youngest daughter Victoria also showed him undergoing a medical check-up by government doctors. Despite this, she claimed her father was not being given medical care that he badly needed, and that he was "getting weaker by the minute."

Outside Villamor, a handful of his supporters staged a protest to denounce the arrest. But this was countered by militant groups which staged a separate protest in Quezon City calling for Duterte to be jailed and hauled before the ICC.

At the same time, families of those killed in the killing spree during Duterte’s term held two separate prayer rallies to give thanks for his long-awaited arrest and urge that he be held to account for the killings immediately.

A holding cell at the ICC in The Hague

Duterte’s lawyers filed a last minute petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court to get the arrest reversed, and to stop him being taken to The Hague. But apart from saying that the petition would be raffled off, the SC did not budge.

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Ex-President Duterte on the way to The Hague after arrest

 

Duterte goes up the Lear jet that will take him to The Hague

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was put on a plane bound for The Hague in the Netherlands shortly after 11pm tonight, Mar. 11, hours after he was arrested at the request of the International Criminal Court over killings during his war on drugs.

His transfer to The Hague makes him Asia’s first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.

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Duterte was arrested at about 9:20 this morning by local police acting at the request of the Interpol, as his plane landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila from Hong Kong, where he met with overseas Filipino workers on Sunday.

Duterte is given a medical check-up by government doctors after his arrest

Some political commentators said he used his unannounced trip to Hong Kong to ask help from Beijing after hearing of the plan to arrest him, but was apparently unsuccessful.

His flight to The Hague in the company of his former executive secretary and lawyer Salvador Medialdea was disclosed by several people, including his youngest daughter Veronica, who said on Instagram that her family had not been told of the private plane’s destination.

"They took dad from us, put him on a plane and wouldn't say where to. People, wake up," she posted.

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Vice President Sara Duterte, the former president’s embattled older daughter, said she had tried to gain entry to Villamor Airbase where her father was detained before being whisked away, but was rebuffed.

“As I write this, he is being forcibly taken to The Hague tonight. This is not justice – this is oppression and persecution,” she said.

She condemned her father’s arrest as illegal, saying he was denied of his fundamental right to be brought before a court so he could assert his rights and avail of reliefs provided by law.

Shortly after Duterte’s plane took off, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., held a news conference to confirm that the plane was heading to The Hague (see separate story).

The ICC will investigate Duterte's alleged crimes against humanity

A last-minute attempt by his lawyers to get the Philippine Supreme Court to stop him being taken away and put under the ICC’s jurisdiction resulted in the country’s top judicial body merely announcing that the case would be raffled off. The hoped-for temporary restraining order did not materialize.

Shortly after his arrest Duterte also tried to resist being sent off to The Hague, saying he should only be tried by a Philippine court.

"ICC is out of the question… We are not a signatory of the ICC. Diyan ako hindi papayag," he told the arresting officers. (I will not agree to that). 

He also said he was certain the Supreme Court would not allow him to be taken away and tried before a foreign court.

 

Duterte who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was arrested following the ICC’s investigation into the thousands of “extrajudicial killings” that were carried out in line with his anti-drugs campaign.

But he has always maintained that the police linked to the killings had only acted in self-defence, and insisted that those killed, including a number of young teenagers, were drug dealers.

Basahin ang detalye!

Duterte also repeatedly said in public that he was committed to ridding the country of drugs, even it meant him ending in jail.

However, human rights activists have documented cases that showed many of those killed were innocent bystanders, and pointed to several of Duterte’s close friends as the real drug dealers.

Just before leaving Hong Kong, he again taunted the ICC, saying he had long waited for it to arrest him.

In 2019, he unilaterally withdrew the Philippines’ membership from the ICC, and has since used this as an excuse for saying the international court could have no jurisdiction over him.

But the ICC maintains it retains the right to investigate alleged crimes that took place while a country was a member.

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4 months’ jail for necklace theft

 

Necklace with carnelian pendant (photo from Van Cleef & Arpels website)

A domestic helper was jailed today for four months after pleading guilty at Eastern Court to stealing an 18-karat gold necklace from her employer.

Principal Magistrate Don So meted the sentence on Mary Grace Guillermo, 46 years old, for violation of section 9 of the Theft Ordinance.

The complaint filed by Aberdeen Police alleged that the theft of the Van Cleef & Arpels-branded necklace with carnelian pendant worth $21,000 happened between Aug.1 and Dec. 18, 2024 at the employer’s house in Shouson Hill.

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In a separate case at District Court, a Filipina holder of a recognizance card for identity purposes was ordered arrested for being absent at today’s hearing of her case for possession of 36 pieces of fake $500 notes, amounting to $18,000.

Chief District Judge Justin Ko also ordered police not to allow Leah Sanesteban, 44 years old, to post bail when she is arrested.

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Sanesteban was arrested by police last July 1 on Nanking St in Yau Ma Tei and charged with violation of section 100(2) of the Crimes Ordinance, which states: “A person who has in his custody or under his control, without lawful authority or excuse, any thing which is, and which he knows or believes to be, a counterfeit of a currency note or of a protected coin, commits an offense and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for 3 years.”

The ordinance also said: “For the purposes of this section it is immaterial that a coin or note is not in a fit state to be passed or tendered or that the making or counterfeiting of a coin or note has not been finished or perfected.”

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New ‘tanim bala’ case recalls Nanay Gloria's ordeal

 

Nanay Gloria (in white shirt) all packed after her employer fired her following the
 'tanim bala' incident. Beside her is the late Migrant Workers Secretary Toots Ople
who was among those who helped her.

The newly reported case of an elderly Filipina being held up at the airport for allegedly having a spent bullet in her luggage brings back memories of a similar incident nearly 10 years ago involving a then 56-year-old overseas Filipina worker in Hong Kong.

While 69-year-old Ruth Adel escaped being set up by the very people hired to provide security at the Manila airport in the recent case, OFW Gloria Ortinez wasn’t as lucky. Arrested on her way back to Hong Kong on October 25, 2015, "Nanay Gloria" spent some time in detention before being rescued by a number of people, including lawyer Spocky Farolan and the late Susan “Toots” Ople, an OFW advocate who eventually became secretary of the Department of Migrant Workers.

According to the Office of Transportation Security (OTS), Ortinez was found with a bullet for a carbine rifle wrapped in a red cloth inside her hand-carried bag as she was transiting at the Manila airport on her way back to Hong Kong. She was arrested and jailed after failing to pay Php80,000 bail on a charge of illegal possession of ammunition.

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A widespread outcry that followed her arrest eventually led to the dismissal of the case against her, but it came too late as her Hong Kong employer had already decided to terminate her contract.

Helped by Oplan and Farolan, Ortinez managed to return to Hong Kong and make peace with her employer, who, after a change of heart, gave her long service pay and offered her a new contract. But Ortinez eventually decided to go back to her Ilocos hometown while she contemplated on the job offer.

Ortinez called on the govt to stop the bullet-planting scam

In an interview after her release, Ortinez revealed that there were a number of foreigners who were in the airport jail with her. All had been charged with possessing a bullet, or a gun, in their luggage.

Detained at about the same time was 20-year-old American missionary Lane Michael White who was found with a bullet in his luggage as he was about to fly out after inspecting a lot in Palawan where his family had intended to build a church.

White was adamant in saying the bullet was “planted” and he got arrested only after he refused to pay P30,000 in grease money to an airport officer.

According to news reports at that time, the ‘tanim bala’ scam had been going on for two decades, and those behind it were making thousands of pesos each day. The reports said some security personnel employed “spotters” tasked to find them the "perfect" targets.

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For months, authorities denied that a syndicate was at work at the airport, but after Ortinez’ case came to light and the Senate began a probe into the series of bullet-planting incidents then President Benigno S. Aquino III ordered a full blown investigation.

The cases abruptly stopped after this, but it now seems, not for long.

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3 Manila airport staff fired after ‘tanim bala’ caper

 

The dismissed security staff trying to show images of the supposed bullet casing in Ruth's bag 

Philippine Transport Secretary Vince Dizon has ordered the dismissal of three airport security personnel at terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila after a video reminiscent of the “tanim bala” scandal 10 years ago, went viral.

In the video, 69-year-old Ruth Adel could be seen being stopped by the security staff as she was about to board her flight to Vietnam on Mar 6, saying she should go back to where the x-ray machine was, as their supervisor saw a spent bullet casing in her hand-carried bag.

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Adel resisted, and proceeded to empty the contents of her handbag, all the while upbraiding the staff for attempting to detain her on false accusation. No bullet was found, and the security guards walked away grinning.

Ruth's bag is shown being emptied of various items, including with a wad of US$ bills 

Within hours of the video being released, Dizon held a press conference to say that the three staff involved had been dismissed. He also promised to pursue the filing of an administrative case against them after an investigation is conducted.

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“We will not tolerate this kind of behavior against our citizens,” said Dizon. “So we are hereby announcing the termination of the people in the OTS (Office of Transportation Security) who were involved in this incident,” he said.

Dizon also warned that he is serious about going after errant personnel.

Dizon (in black) says he is serious about cracking down on staff who victimize passengers

“We are not fooling around here. Kung akala nyo nagloloko kami, nagkakamali kayo. Kung akala ninyo ginagawa namin ito for show, nagkakamali kayo,” said the visibly irked Dizon. (If you think we are pulling your leg, you are mistaken. If you think we are doing this for you, you are mistaken).

Malacanang was also quick to react, with Presidential Spokesperson Claire Castro announcing that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has personally ordered an investigation into the case.

After the government’s quick response, Ruth and her daughter Cai who was with her on the flight, said in an online interview that it appeared that what the errant staff were after were the US dollar bills that she had stuffed inside a transparent envelope.

Ruth and Cai speak of their ordeal in an ABS-CBN interview

The two were already at the boarding gates of their Cebu Pacific flight to Hanoi when a female security officer told them they needed to take their hand-carried bag back to the screening desk as her supervisor saw a spent bullet inside it. 

“Anong basyo? Anong bala? Wala akong alam sa mga sinasabi ninyo. Senior na ako, bakit ninyo ginagawa ito? Maawa naman kayo sa amin,” Ruth said she told the security staff.

 (What casing? What bullet? I don’t know anything about what you’re saying. I am already a senior citizen. Why are you doing this? Have pity on us).

When she resisted, the supervisor who claimed to have seen the spent bullet in the x-ray machine came over and said it was not in the hand-carried luggage but in Ruth’s handbag.

Frantic because there were only a few minutes left before their flight was due to take off, Ruth emptied the contents of her bag which yielded only the money in the envelope, a comb, a rosary and a few other items, but no bullet.

Ruth said the three staff then turned their backs at them, after failing to stop them from recording everything that was happening on video, but offered no excuses.  

“Grabe ang nerbyos ko sa pangyayari at tumaas ang presyon ko. Hanggang ngayon ay napapanaginipan ko parin ang mga pangyayari sa akin,” said Ruth in her post.

“Ang buong akala ko nagbago na ang systema dito. Gusto kong mabigyan ng aksyon ito at ayaw ko ng may mabiktima pa silang iba. Ni hindi humingi ng paumanhin sa abala at perwisyo na binigay nila sa akin. Kapag hindi sila naturuan ng leksyon, patuloy ng mambibiktima itong mga opisyales na ito.”

(I was so nervous because of what happened that my blood pressure shot up. Until know I still have nightmares about what happened to me).

(All along I thought thing have changed. I want someone to act on this as I don’t want them to victimize more people. They did not even offer an apology for causing me inconvenience and distress. If they are not taken to task, they will continue victimizing other people).

The security staff tried to stop the filming of their encounter with Ruth and Cai

Ruth’s experience called to mind a series of incidents in 2015, when a number of passengers at Manila airport were arrested and held on charges of having bullets or bullet casings in their luggage which they were supposedly keeping as “anting-anting” or talisman.

This was partly prompted by cases in some places abroad, especially Hong Kong, where Filipinos were routinely arrested at the airport after their luggage yielded bullets, and charged in court for possessing “arms or ammunition,” no matter if they were fired, or spent bullets.

But in nearly all of the cases in this particular year, the bullets were found to have been planted by airport security personnel who found in them an easy way to extort money from hapless victims, many of them overseas Filipino workers.

From January to November 2015, more than 30 such incidents were reported at the airport, despite repeated warnings to outbound passengers that it is illegal to keep them in their belongings.

As the cases mounted, airport authorities repeatedly insisted that their security personnel had nothing to do with the scam.

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Duterte says he only wanted peace in the Philippines

 

Duterte suggested OFWs build him a monument showing him with a gun

Amid continuing speculations that the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant of arrest against him, former Philippine President Rodrigo told about 2,000 supporters in Hong Kong that he did everything in his time so Filipinos can have a little peace.

“Ginawa ko ang nararapat para magkaroon ng kaunting kapayapaan ang mga Pilipino,” he told the crowd made up mostly of Filipino migrant workers in an event held at Southorn Stadium in Wanchai on Sunday, Mar. 9.

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Duterte addressed the reports about his possible arrest head-on, saying the ICC had been hounding him for a long time, then followed this up with an expletive.

The ICC has been investigating the large number of killings by police and hitmen during Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs, which left thousands of mostly poor Filipinos dead.

Duterte with his senatorial candidates

In a more serious tone, Duterte added: “Assuming na totoo, bakit ko ginawa ito? Para sa sarili ko? Sa pamilya ko? Para sa inyo ito, at inyong mga anak.”

(Assuming the allegations are true, why did I do it? For myself? My family? It was for you and your children).

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He then said in jest that overseas Filipino workers should build him a monument just like the national hero, Jose Rizal. But while Rizal held a book, he should be shown holding a gun.

His surprise appearance at the event left a number of OFWs in the audience in tears, in a show of fondness and support for the embattled former president.

A number of women supporters shed tears on seeing the former president

Earlier, media reports in the Philippines announced Duterte had flown to Hong Kong in the face of his possible arrest because of the warrant issued by the ICC.

Online media portal Rappler, citing “informed sources,” said the warrant was issued on Saturday, Mar. 8. It also said Presidential Communications Office Secretary Jay Ruiz had admitted hearing about the said warrant being issued.

However, the ICC itself has not made an official announcement on this, or commented on the report.

Basahin ang detalye!

The Hong Kong event which was supposed to be a thanksgiving meeting between Duterte and overseas Filipino workers was organized by the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, a religious group founded by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who is in jail in the Philippines on charges of money laundering, human trafficking and abuse of minors.

Quiboloy was among the senatorial candidates in next May’s mid-term elections in the Philippines endorsed by Duterte at the event. The others were incumbents Christopher Go and Ronaldo dela Rosa, along with Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, lawyers James Bondoc, Vic Rodriguez and Raul Lambino, actor Philip Salvador and Dr. Richard Mata.

VP Sara is all smiles at she hints at running for president in 2028

Making a surprise appearance at the event was Vice President Sara Duterte, who hinted at running in the next presidential election in 2028.

“Nagpapasalamat ako dahil from 2016 hanggang 2025 nandiyan pa rin kayo…Sa tulong ninyo at sa kampanya para sa akin sa nakaraang halalan noong 2022…at sa susunod na halalan sa 2028 (joke),” she said.

(I am grateful because from 2016 until 2025 you are still there…for your help and for campaigning for me in the 2022 election, and in the next election in 2028 (joke).

VP Duterte, who faces an impeachment trial at the Senate, repeatedly spoke of how she had been scammed, in an obvious reference to his very public falling-out with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

“Nabudol lagi,” she said in her native Visayan language (I was tricked),

She hinted that she had agreed to campaign on a platform of unity and continuity, only to realize later on that Marcos had other thoughts, or that he would not do his part of the deal.

It is unclear whether Ex-President Duterte will fly back to the Philippines to belie reports about his possible arrest, or remain in Hong Kong and travel on to another country, which could further fuel speculations about his fate.

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