‘ICC arrest for Duterte, VP Sara expected’

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to issue arrest warrants against former president Rodrigo Duterte by mid-year, and for his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte and other personalities in subsequent “batches” in connection with the war on drugs, according to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

Trillanes told “Storycon” on One News yesterday that he has been in touch with ICC representatives since its preliminary examination, during the conduct of the investigation, and up to the junking of Duterte’s appeal.

“The warrant will be released late second quarter, so we can say middle of the year, maybe June or July, that will actually happen. So it is a waiting game at this point,” Trillanes said.

“Based on the information gathered, this warrant of arrest would come in batches. The first batch is only (for) one, only Duterte, the father. The second (batch) is for the (other) principal actors, as far as I know,” Trillanes added.

Apart from Duterte and his daughter, among the other personalities reportedly investigated by the ICC in connection with the brutal crackdown on the drug menace are his “tokhang” enforcer Sen. Ronald de la Rosa and former aide Sen. Bong Go.

Trillanes stressed that he was not just a “marites” or rumor-monger but he has been in touch with the ICC since 2017.

“So that’s how we established that relationship with ICC, but there’s a restriction on the release of information that can also be disclosed. The other information that I am releasing is not necessarily from the ICC itself but from people privy to what’s going on,” he added.

Earlier, Trillanes said the ICC investigated more than 50 active and former police officers who served under the Duterte administration for their role in the bloody war on drugs waged by Duterte.

‘Marcos and Duterte split not due to ICC’

The former senator expressed that President Marcos, who was firm against cooperating with the ICC, “will say what he needs to say but will do what he needs to do at a proper time.” He did not elaborate.

“Let’s wait for the warrant of arrest to be out,” he said.

He noted that the complex relationship between Marcos and the younger Duterte was not due to the ICC investigation against her father but the Duterte camp’s effort to oust the incumbent president. Under the rule of succession, when Marcos is ousted, the Vice President will replace him.

“I believe that is not the reason why they split up, because the split happened way earlier, during the latter part of 2022. The Duterte camp is already maneuvering… they are already strategizing, it’s part of the many reasons but that is not the only reason,” he added.

When asked whether Marcos will decide to rejoin ICC, Trillanes said: “I will not go that far to say I know what is in his heart. But I can speculate that that was one of his considerations in light of the fallout with the Dutertes. Probably when he started that’s (rejoining ICC) totally out of the picture but because of recent events he became open to it.”

“I don’t think it is necessary for him to rejoin, he just needs to enforce the warrants. The issue on whether to rejoin could be decided later on,” he added.

Trillanes said last year that the ICC could have served as leverage by the administration to keep the new emerging Duterte as opposition in the Marcos administration, “but now lines have been crossed, because what the Dutertes are doing is to oust President Marcos and it would be a grave mistake to trust the Duterte in any deal, the way they seem to behave.”

“Besides the fact, Sara Duterte remains the VP, so anything that happens to President Marcos, they (the Dutertes) are beneficiaries directly of the ouster. Why would they give in to Duterte?” he asked.