Palace twits SolGen on recusal

(UPDATE) MALACAÑANG on Tuesday called on Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra to "assess himself" to determine if he is worthy to remain as the government's top lawyer after he opted out of defending agencies that participated in the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

Guevarra last Monday submitted to the Supreme Court a manifestation of recusal from the consolidated habeas corpus petitions filed by Veronica Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, and Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, stating that as head of the Office of the Solicitor General, he "may not be able to effectively represent respondents in these cases" due to his firm stance that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said that while Guevarra declined to defend the respondents led by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, he did not state that the arrest of Duterte on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC and transmitted through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) was illegal.

"It was very clear on the manifestation of SolGen Menardo Guevarra. He stated that he believes the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, and that is also the stand of the president. But he never mentioned in his manifestation that the government cooperating with Interpol was wrong," Castro said in Filipino.

"So, if he declines to defend ... the officials of the government that worked with the Interpol, maybe that is his personal sentiment," she added.

The official further stated that there have been no discussions so far with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. whether or not Guevarra will stay on as SolGen, but she urged him to reflect on his actions.

"It would be better if it's the SolGen himself who would assess himself if he is still worthy to stand as solicitor general," Castro said.

Former senator Leila de Lima called on Guevarra to resign.

"Instead of recusing himself, the solicitor general should immediately resign from the [Marcos] administration. His recusal only serves to undermine the position of the government even before the issues have been joined in the certiorari and the habeas corpus petitions filed by Duterte, [Sen. Ronald] dela Rosa, and the Duterte siblings," she said.

She emphasized that the duty of the solicitor general was to defend the government.

"If he cannot defend the government, not even on the basis of conflict of interest, but on insisting on a personal legal opinion that is not even crucial to defending the public officials involved, it is time for him to go," de Lima said.

"What is more astounding is that Guevarra is prejudicing government interest in these Duterte cases on the basis of a very wrong legal opinion that categorically contradicts the Supreme Court decision, which declared that regardless of the Philippine withdrawal from the ICC in 2019, the ICC still retains jurisdiction of the crimes committed before the withdrawal," she added.

The former senator said Guevarra's actions are unprecedented in the history of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), putting the office and all government solicitors under his watch in a "very prejudicial position that could almost ruin the whole agency, not to mention the entire government."

"He not only recused himself, but also the whole OSG ... as if he owned the OSG and ran it as an office independent of the [Department of Justice] and the executive [department]," de Lima said.

She also added that Marcos was clearly mistaken in appointing Guevarra as solicitor general, as he now appears to be the Dutertes' "sleeper agent out to sabotage the administration" that the president was warned about.

Amid calls for him to step down from his post, Guevarra — who was justice secretary during the Duterte administration — insisted he is leaving his fate to Marcos.

"That's the president's exclusive call. The president alone can say if he still trusts me," he said in a text message to reporters.

In response to Guevarra's recusal, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially taken over as legal counsel for government officials named in the consolidated habeas corpus petitions filed by the Duterte siblings.

In its compliance report submitted to the Supreme Court on March 17, the DOJ asserted that the habeas corpus petitions had become moot, as Duterte was no longer in Philippine custody following his transfer to the ICC Detention Center in The Hague, Netherlands, on March 12.

It explained that under Philippine legal principles, habeas corpus applies only when a detainee is held in unlawful custody within the jurisdiction of Philippine authorities. Since Duterte was surrendered to the ICC in compliance with an international arrest warrant, the Philippine government no longer had control over his detention.

The DOJ further pointed out that Duterte's arrest was conducted under legal procedures, with proper notification given to him and his legal counsel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) upon his arrival from Hong Kong on March 11. After being briefly held at Villamor Airbase for security reasons, he was flown to the Netherlands, where he appeared before the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber on March 14.

The DOJ also said Duterte's arrest and subsequent transfer were carried out in accordance with international law. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Duterte on March 7, for crimes against humanity related to alleged extrajudicial killings committed between November 2011 and March 2019.

Interpol Manila received the warrant on March 11, and Duterte was informed of it upon landing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Despite his legal team's objections, Duterte was processed according to international protocols and was ultimately transported to the ICC's detention facility. The DOJ noted that this sequence of events underscored the legitimacy of the government's actions, reinforcing the argument that there was no illegal detention that would justify a writ of habeas corpus.