Aquino wants Jamalul to be charged in Manila first
Philippine president Benigno Aquino would rather have Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his conspirators face charges in the Philippines before entertaining the possibility of extraditing Jamalul to Kuala Lumpur.
Philippine president Benigno Aquino would rather have Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his conspirators face charges in the Philippines before entertaining the possibility of extraditing Jamalul to Kuala Lumpur.
According to
ABS-CBN News
, Aquino said today his government was still investigating the possible charges that the sultan and his so-called "conspirators" may face, and what the Philippine government is "empowered to do."
"From my perspective... let our citizens here in the country face the charges that we will be (preparing) first, then we will talk about other developments after they have satisfied the requirements of our laws," Aquino ( right ) is quoted as saying.
Although there is no extradition treaty with Malaysia, Aquino pointed out that there was a mutual legal assistance treaty in force under Asean.
Manila was working to prevent the situation from escalating further, he said, citing the deployment of 10 Philippine navy and Philippine coast guard vessels to block any possible reinforcement in Sabah by the sultan's followers and sympathiser.
In another related development, Philippine news portal InterAksyon reported today that the Philippine Department of Justice would continue building an “airtight” case against Jamalul and would also examine the possiblity of his extradition to Malaysia to face charges.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima (
left
) said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which is under her jurisdiction, was gathering evidence “to determine what charges” could be filed against the sultan - whose followers have been engaging with Malaysian forces in Sabah, where they had gone to press their claim to the state.
This is in compliance with Aquino’s earlier orders to investigate the sultan for possible violations of the constitution and the Revised Penal Code.
Jamalul announced a unilateral ceasefire by his followers in Sabah in response to calls by United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon for an end to the violence and for negotiations to resolve the crisis.
As for the extradition of Jamalul that Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said they might request from the Philippines, de Lima said “insofar as Philippine laws are concerned, we have primary jurisdiction.”
However, she added, if Jamalul “violated Malaysian laws, we can discuss if he can be sent there to face charges... I suppose they violated Malaysian laws.”
"We will study if extradition is possible... There might be some mechanisms... I would not know," she added.
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