MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government cannot stop the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) from serving arrest warrants that the International Criminal Court (ICC) may issue against former president Rodrigo Duterte and several others for the killing of thousands of suspects during his bloody war on drugs, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said yesterday.
At a media forum, Remulla said that while the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC, it is still part of the Interpol, to which it has obligations.
He noted that the ICC and the Interpol are “used to working together” and the international tribunal could bring in the Interpol to enforce arrest warrants.
“We are not in the business of blocking any movement of the Interpol, unless a policy is laid out, which of course will go against our international commitments. Kaya hindi natin ginagawa yun (That’s why we don’t do it),” he said.
Citing the principle of comity, Remulla said the Philippine government will not obstruct anything as long as it does not violate the country’s laws.
“The principle of comity dictates that we remain friendly and do not block any legal actions they undertake. If they engage in illegal activities, then we will not tolerate that, if they violate our laws,” he said.
The justice chief said they still would study the implications of dealing with the Interpol on the matter but stressed there are repercussions if the Philippine government moves to block its activities in the country.
“Kapag nag-issue ng warrant of arrest, it’s the Interpol’s job to serve it, and we have a job to the Interpol. We are not in the business of blocking the Interpol’s job, which is to fight international crime. We respect the Interpol’s actions 99.9 percent of the time,” Remulla said.
He also emphasized that Interpol agents and officials can freely enter the country visa-free.
Remulla likewise confirmed the ICC’s requesting assistance from the government in interviewing persons of interest. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra earlier revealed the ICC making such request.
The DOJ chief said the government “noted” the request but did not “act favorably” on it, as the country had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019 during the Duterte administration after the tribunal began a probe on his war on drugs.
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV earlier said Sen. Ronald dela Rosa and four other former ranking police officials have been named as suspects in the ICC probe.
Trillanes had posted a supposedly redacted copy of an order of the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor.
Others supposedly named in the document were former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Romeo Caramat Jr., former National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and former PNP Intelligence Officer Eleazar Mata.
Trillanes earlier said the ICC had asked the Interpol to place the five men on its “blue list.” This means that if the five leave the Philippines and enter any of the 195 other Inter- pol member states, they can be held for questioning by the ICC.