Ratification of 2 Russia treaties okayed

The Philippines has signed eight bilateral agreements with Russia including the extradition treaty and the MLAT

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday gave approval on the ratification of two treaties entered into by the governments of the Philippines and Russia.

In a Senate hearing, the panel headed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel IV discussed the Philippine-Russia Extradition Treaty and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) while panel members Senators Francis Tolentino, Ronald de la Rosa and Sherwin Gatchalian unanimously concurred on the provisions of the treaties.

The Philippines has signed eight bilateral agreements with Russia including the extradition treaty and the MLAT, which were witnessed by President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

During the Senate hearing, Justice Undersecretary

Mark Perrete disclosed some provisions of the extradition treaty which is composed of 18 articles.

Some of these provide that the Philippines and Russia are obliged to extradite persons whom authorities in the requesting state have charged with or convicted with an extraditable offense.

Perrete also said that the treaty adopts a non-list dual criminality approach, which requires that both countries must deem the offense as a crime before the request is appreciated.

On the other hand, the MLAT has 23 articles that seek to improve the effectiveness of the activities of both countries in combatting crimes, including those related to terrorism and criminal matters.

He said that currently, the Philippines does not have a law in Mutual Legal Assistance but the Department of Justice (DoJ) is drafting a bill on it with the support of the United Nations on Drugs and Crime.

Perrete also narrated that at first, Russia requested that the MLAT follow the dual criminality principle, however, the Philippines did not agree.

To reach an agreement, a compromise was reached by both countries where the Philippines can make a request for legal assistance even in the absence of dual criminality.

Meanwhile, Tolentino requested the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to state their position on the death penalty to make sure that the government will have sufficient laws that are equal to the death penalty imposed by other countries.

The DFA, through Undersecretary

Enrique Manalo, said they will defer their position to the DoJ.

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