THE Palace has not received any communication regarding a potential Interpol red notice for former president Rodrigo “Digong” Roa Duterte. This comes amid reports of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the former president.
The ICC is currently investigating Duterte and other officials from his administration for alleged crimes related to the thousands of deaths during police anti-drug operations. Government records indicate at least 6,000 drug suspects were killed during Duterte’s war on drugs, but human rights groups estimate the number to be as high as 30,000.
“We haven’t received any communication regarding the red notice, and we have spoken to Asec. Mico from the DOJ, and as of now, they are also reviewing their records. As of now, we have not received any communication regarding that,” said Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro.
Castro added that while news reports have emerged about the issuance of an arrest warrant against Duterte, they cannot confirm it without a physical copy of the warrant.
“According to the DOJ, since we are not currently a member of the ICC, the ICC has options on how to serve the warrant. If we were a member, it could be served through the office of the President, the DOJ, or the DFA. However, the ICC may still consider us a member and could follow the procedures I mentioned, but it’s up to them whether to serve it directly in the country where the person they want to serve the warrant is located,” Castro explained.
Castro also stated that the government’s policy of not cooperating with the ICC remains unchanged, unless Interpol itself requests assistance.
“We will cooperate with Interpol if Interpol requests assistance from the government,” she concluded.
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