Gov’t ‘obliged to follow’ Interpol on Du30 arrest
Malacañang on Sunday reiterated its earlier position that it is ready to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), once the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant on former President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity.
The ICC itself, in an email to the Inquirer when reached for comment, said it was adhering to the “confidentiality” of its investigation.
Acting Secretary Jay Ruiz of the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement on Sunday: “We’ve heard that an arrest warrant has been issued by the [ICC] against… Duterte for crimes against humanity. The government is prepared for any eventuality.”
Palace press officer Claire Castro said there was no confirmation yet on the reported issuance of the warrant on Duterte, in connection with the brutal drug war on his watch as president.
“But as what [Executive Secretary Lucas] Bersamin and [Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla] said before, if Interpol will ask for the necessary assistance from the government, it is obliged to follow,” she added.
Amid reports of the issuance of the arrest warrant, 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.
Earlier stand
In January, Bersamin said the Philippines would act “favorably or positively” to a request by the ICC to take custody of any person in relation to its investigation of crimes against humanity in Duterte’s bloody war on drugs if coursed through the Interpol.
Bersamin was commenting on a previous statement by Remulla expressing openness to sit down and talk with the ICC “in the spirit of comity,” nearly five years after Duterte ordered the country’s withdrawal from the tribunal after it initiated an investigation into his brutal antinarcotics campaign.
The Palace official had reiterated the government’s position that the ICC no longer had jurisdiction over the Philippines following its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the treaty which created the international court.
“But that does not necessarily mean that the order of the ICC, coursed through the Interpol, is to be ignored,” he noted. “I’m not saying that we are heeding the ICC. It’s the Interpol that we are dealing with.”
Integrity of investigation
The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has kept mum about the supposed issuance of a warrant, neither confirming nor denying it.
“The office has an ongoing investigation in relation to the situation in the Philippines,” the tribunal’s Office of the Prosecutor said in an email to the Inquirer on Sunday (Manila time), when asked to confirm the warrant.
“Confidentiality is a crucial part of our work and is essential to protect the integrity of the investigations and to ensure the safety and security of victims, witnesses and all those with whom the office interacts,” it added.
Former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, one of the counsels representing the drug war victims in the ICC, could also not confirm the issuance of the warrant.
“We haven’t heard or received anything, we really cannot confirm if there was a warrant,” he said. “But then again, a warrant, under the rules of the Rome Statute, can be issued after the investigation or before the charges are filed. Then you have another warrant, which is for the trial.”
In Duterte’s case, the warrant that may have been issued could be the pre-indictment warrant.
Rumors about the incoming warrant against the former president first swirled early last year, when former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV predicted the arrest of Duterte to happen in late 2024.
This time, however, Colmenares expressed confidence that a warrant will “surely” be issued against the former president sooner.
Secondary respondent
Duterte was the chief architect of the bloody drug war waged during his roles as president from 2016 to 2022 and as mayor of Davao City for seven terms totaling more than 22 years.
The drug campaign under his presidency claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official data, but human rights watchdogs and the ICC itself estimated the death toll to be much higher.
This led to the victims’ kin lodging charges against Duterte and the other orchestrators of the drug war, including former Philippine National Police chief and now Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
Vice President Sara Duterte was included as a secondary respondent in the case over her alleged involvement in the killings when she was mayor of Davao City.
“I am somehow hopeful this time compared to before because the evidence after the quad [committee hearings] has become stronger,” Colmenares told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Sunday.
He was referring to the House of Representatives’ quad committee probe into crimes related to the drug war.
