MANILA – The Philippines has no recourse to stop Interpol if ever it will serve an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against former President Rodrigo Duterte and others in relation to the previous administration’s “war on drugs”.
According to Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary Jesus Remulla, the Philippines, being a member of the Interpol, cannot interfere if they will serve an arrest warrant here from the ICC.
“We respect Interpol’s actions 99.9 percent of the time,” Remulla said in an interview at the Kapihan forum. “If a problem arises, they (ICC) will bring it to Interpol.”
“We are members of Interpol, and we do not block any movement of Interpol unless a policy contradicts our international commitments,” he added.
“The future issue at hand now is that if a warrant of arrest is issued, it’s Interpol’s job to serve it. And we have a duty to Interpol,” the Justice secretary further said.
Interpol, or the International Criminal Police Organization, is an international organization of 196 countries that facilitates worldwide police operation and crime control founded a century ago and presently based in France.
Remulla added that, under the principle of comity, 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.
Remulla explained that among those that constitute illegal actions is f they arrest someone without the authority to do so, or usurp power.
“We are not in the business of blocking Interpol’s job, which is to fight international crime,” Remulla said./PN
