DOJ: Any request to arrest Du30 still up for review
- The evaluation is “to ensure that all supporting documents are complete and that the Interpol request is valid.” And since PH is a signatory to Interpol, “we are bound to comply and respect it.”
- The Philippine government has consistently maintained that it will not cooperate with the ICC’s investigation into thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s vicious drug war following the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the 2002 treaty that established the court.
- However, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had said that Manila could not prevent Interpol from acting once the ICC sought its assistance in enforcing an arrest warrant. Malacañang on Monday reiterated that it had not received any official communication from Interpol.
Any request from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant would still undergo evaluation by the National Central Bureau (NCB) in Manila, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Monday.
Under the Interpol constitution, member-countries are required to establish their respective NCB to ensure constant and active cooperation within the organization.
“All these requests will go through an evaluation process to ensure that all supporting documents are complete and that the Interpol request is valid. Only then will it be given due course, and based on that, the agencies will take action,” DOJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV said in an interview.
Here, the NCB is composed of the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Immigration and the National Bureau of Investigation, Clavano said.
“If there are instructions from Interpol, and since we signed that international agreement, we are bound to comply and respect it. So if they make a request, the NCB will process it and take action based on that request,” he pointed out.
The Philippine government has consistently maintained that it will not cooperate with the ICC’s investigation into thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s vicious drug war following the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the 2002 treaty that established the court.
However, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla had said that Manila could not prevent Interpol from acting once the ICC sought its assistance in enforcing an arrest warrant.
Still, Clavano said the DOJ had no confirmation regarding reports that Interpol had already issued a red notice—a request to law enforcement agencies worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action—against Duterte.
No official word
Malacañang on Monday reiterated that it had not received any official communication from Interpol.
“We have also talked with [Clavano] and as of now they were still checking their records,” Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a press briefing.
“[I]f we already have the official copy, we will show it to you,” she added.
“Our law enforcement agencies are ready to implement what is stated under the law. If we need to serve the warrant of arrest as per request of the Interpol, the government will do it as long as it is legal,” said Castro, appealing to Duterte’s supporters to respect the law.
Castro said they also do not see the possibility of Duterte fleeing the country to evade his impending arrest.
During the weekend, Duterte flew to Hong Kong, an administrative region of China, to address a rally by Filipinos there expressing support for the former president. Beijing is not a state party to the 2002 Rome Statute which established the ICC.
“As of now we are not thinking, or contemplating, [Duterte] evading the law… considering that he was the one who asked for this. He told the (House) quad comm hearing that he was ready to face the ICC. He was even asking the ICC, ‘Hurry up! Tomorrow, if they want to investigate, and if you will put me in prison, I would rather rot in jail,’” Castro said.
Legal obligation
For its part, the PNP on Monday said it was fully prepared for any eventuality should the Interpol request for help.
“If our Interpol asks for help… the PNP has a legal obligation to reciprocate the courtesy given to us by Interpol,” PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing.
Manila Rep. Joel Chua on Monday agreed that the Philippines has the legal and diplomatic obligation, as part of Interpol, to recognize and cooperate with the ICC’s warrant for Duterte’s arrest.
“In fact, when we were searching for Alice Guo… we sought the help and support of the Interpol,” he pointed out, referring to the former Bamban, Tarlac, mayor who was arrested in Indonesia after fleeing the country to evade charges of human trafficking and money laundering in connection with the now banned offshore gaming operations.
This was also the point of Kristina Conti, one of the counsels of the victims of the drug war, that Guo was arrested with the help of Interpol.
Fajardo also denied a report claiming that at least 7,000 police personnel would be deployed to arrest Duterte, noting that the deployment in Davao was part of simulation exercises for the May elections also taking place in other regions.
The PNP is also not on heightened alert in anticipation of Duterte’s arrest as the report claimed, she added.
Meanwhile, lawyer Luke Espiritu, a senatorial candidate of Partido Lakas ng Masa, has urged justice and human rights advocates to follow closely how the Marcos administration behaves in relation to the legal issues hounding Duterte.
Espiritu said on Monday that he was worried that if Filipinos let their guard down, “political considerations could take precedence instead of the cause of justice.” —WITH REPORTS FROM JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, DEMPSEY REYES, FRANCES MANGOSING AND RYAN D. ROSAURO
