Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano has sponsored a Senate minority resolution seeking to protect Filipinos from extraordinary rendition, warning that citizens should not be surrendered to foreign tribunals without judicial proceedings in Philippine courts.
Cayetano sponsored Senate Resolution No. 307, which is now up for plenary debate, as concerns grow over the possible issuance of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court against Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go in connection with the ICC investigation into the anti-drug campaign of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Cayetano argued that the 1987 Constitution guarantees Filipinos the right to seek judicial relief in domestic courts before any surrender to a foreign tribunal.
He said judicial participation is a constitutional requirement even in cases involving international arrest warrants.
According to Cayetano, the Philippine government should not have allowed Duterte to be transported to The Hague based solely on obligations to the Interpol.
He said the situation should be treated with the same seriousness as protecting Philippine territory from foreign intrusion, stressing that national sovereignty must remain paramount.
Cayetano also pointed to practices in other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, where domestic legal processes and court participation are required before authorities act on requests from foreign courts for arrest or surrender.