THE Philippine government could have already coordinated with the International Criminal Court (ICC) prior to the issuance of an arrest warrant against former President Rodrigo Duterte (FPRRD), Senator Imee Marcos said on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
During the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations inquiry into the regularity of the arrest of FPRRD, its chairperson, Senator Imee Marcos, revealed a red diffusion issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), which was relayed to the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) on March 11, the day FPRRD was arrested upon his arrival in Manila from Hong Kong.
The Interpol said the diffusion is transmitted “after prior consultations with the Government of the Philippines, who have agreed to comply with this request for arrest.”
“So hindi totoo na March 11, 3 a.m. lang ninyo nalaman (na may warrant) kasi nakasabi dito sa page 1 ‘after prior consultation with the Government of the Philippines who have agreed to this request,’” Marcos said.
(It's not true that you only found out on March 11 at 3 a.m. [that there was a warrant] because it says here on page 1, "after prior consultation with the Government of the Philippines who have agreed to this request.")
“Ibig sabihin, ang pamahalaan ay nakausap na… Ikalawa, sumang-ayon na. So ibig sabihin, ito, formal transmittal lang. Walang sinasabi dito na biglaan ito. Kaya nga March 10 pa lang, 7,000 na pulis na ang minobilize, e,” she added.
(It means, the government has already been consulted… Secondly, they have already agreed. So, it means, this is just a formal transmittal. It doesn’t say here that this was sudden. That’s why, as early as March 10, 7,000 police officers were already mobilized.)
PCTC Executive Director Anthony Alcantara said it would only be the ICC who can shed light on the matter.
“Ang matatanong po natin diyan ay ‘yung nag-apply po, ang ICC. Sila po ang naglagay niyan, e,” Alcantara said.
(The ones we can ask about that are the ones who applied, the ICC. They are the ones who issued that.)
“So nagsisinungaling ang Interpol (so Interpol is lying),” Marcos responded.
“Ang sinasabi pa rito na hugas-kamay ang Interpol at hindi pa sila gumagawa ng compliance review. Hindi pa nila naimbestigahan. Hindi pa napaptunayan itong diffusion. At kung may duda, sabihan na lang sila dahil hindi pa nila naasikaso ito,” she added, noting the disclaimer included on the Interpol’s document.
(What they are also saying is that Interpol is washing its hands on this and has not yet conducted a compliance review. They have not investigated it yet. This diffusion has not been proven. And if there are doubts, they should just be told because they haven’t taken care of this yet.)
Marcos criticized the immediate arrest of FPRRD following the issuance of Interpol’s diffusion, saying that such an alert from Interpol was not yet verified.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla noted that the Interpol was just “following the format” of the diffusion document.
“Hindi po lahat ng sinasabi dyan ay ganon na lang po ang katotohanan kasi nag-iingat lang po sila na makatabig sila ng mali. Marami po sila paniguradong mga salita sa kanilang form letter,” he said.
(Not everything that's said there is just the truth because they are just being careful not to make a mistake. I'm sure they have many precautionary words in their form letter.)
“Katulad niyan nung sinabi na ‘pagkatapos makipag-ugnay sa Gobyerno ng Republika ng Pilipinas,’ ang palaisipan ko po ay sino ang kausap nila dito dahil hindi naman po kami ang kausap,” he added.
(Like when it was said, "after contacting the Government of the Republic of the Philippines," my question is, who were they talking to here because it wasn’t us they were talking to.)
Remulla earlier in the hearing maintained that the Philippine government has no coordination with the ICC, considering that it has no jurisdiction over the country.
However, he noted that while the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the Philippines, it has authority over individuals who violated the International Humanitarian Law.
FPRRD is facing charges over crimes against humanity in relation to the implementation of his drug war from 2011 to 2019, before the Philippines, under his leadership withdrew membership to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC.
Remulla defended the immediate arrest of FPRRD following the issuance of the Interpol’s diffusion on the basis of the ICC arrest warrant.
“Baka dahil sa panahon, dahil mabilis po ang paghanap, mabilis pong nangyari. Marahil sa ordinaryong pagkakataon nandyan po ang notice pero dito walang pagkakataon marahil,” he said.
(It might be because of the timing, because the search was quick, and things happened quickly. Perhaps under ordinary circumstances, the notice would have been there, but in this case, there might not have been an opportunity.)
The justice secretary also stood firm that FPRRD’s arrest and turn over to the ICC followed the rule of law.
The Philippine National Police, through Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Major General Nicolas Torre, also maintained the regularity of the arrest amid public criticisms. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)