At a glance

• Claim: The Rodrigo Duterte administration will arrest International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda over her accusations about the Philippine government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. 
• Rating: FALSE
• The facts: Civil servants and officials of international organizations like the ICC have diplomatic immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of national governments. The Duterte administration has also not announced anything about arresting Bensouda.
• Why we fact-checked this: The video has over 128,000 views on YouTube as of writing.

Complete details

A video uploaded on Wednesday, June 16, by the YouTube channel “Showbiz Fanaticz” falsely claims that the Rodrigo Duterte government is arresting International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Fatou Bensouda due to her accusations about extrajudicial killings done by Duterte.

The video is titled: “JUST IN: Dahil sa Maling BINTANG kay Pres. Duterte ICC Prosecutor Bensouda, KUMPIRMADONG MAKUKULONG!” (JUST IN: Because of false accusations against President Duterte, it is confirmed that ICC Prosecutor Bensouda will be jailed!)

Data from social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle show that the video has over 128,000 views and 1,100 comments on YouTube, as of writing. 

This is false.

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protects individuals working for international organizations, such as the ICC, from any form of arrest or detention by giving them immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state. 

The immunity enjoyed by diplomats also gives their countries of origin prerogative over whether or not a host country may prosecute a diplomat under its laws, making an arrest by the Philippine government of an ICC prosecutor like Bensouda unlikely to happen.

The ICC is an international organization that investigates and tries individuals charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes and humanity, and the crime of aggression. 

There are also no reports confirming that the Philippine government will arrest Bensouda. The false video says Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque “confirmed” the arrest, but Roque has not made such a statement.

The state-controlled Presidential Communications Operations Office and Philippine News Agency also did not announce anything about arresting Bensouda.

On May 24, Bensouda applied with the ICC’s pre-trial chamber (PTC) for authorization to open an investigation into the alleged crimes committed under President Duterte’s anti-drug campaign. The prosecutor publicized a redacted version of the request on June 14.

The Philippines withdrew from ICC’s Rome Statute in March 2019 after Bensouda announced her preliminary examination of the complaint filed against Duterte in connection with the high number of killings under his campaign against drugs.

The Duterte administration cites the country’s withdrawal from the statute to claim that the ICC’s probe into the drug war is legally erroneous and politically motivated.

However, the ICC states in the jurisdiction status of the Philippines that the court still retains jurisdiction over the crimes committed during the time that the country was still a party to the statute, and that the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction even after the withdrawal takes effect. 

The ICC-PTC is yet to reject or approve Bendousa’s request. If approved, the ICC will proceed to the investigation phase, where summons and arrest orders are issued. (READ: ICC may move in 3 months as Bensouda’s track record hounds Duterte) – Lorenz Dantes Pasion/Rappler.com

Lorenz Dantes Pasion is a Rappler intern. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s internship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

More fact checks on YouTube channel “Showbiz Fanaticz”:

• FALSE: Japanese gov’t publication reported Duterte’s highest rating among Asian leaders 
• FALSE: Media did not report on alleged vote-buying in Cavite 
• FALSE: Lucy Torres confirms her senatorial candidacy
• FALSE: Media did not report about coast guard rescue ops during Auring
• FALSE: Fernando Zobel de Ayala shames opposition, sides with Duterte