MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the government was obliged to cooperate with Interpol regarding the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte who faces a charge of crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a press conference late Tuesday night at Malacañang, the Chief Executive said the arrest of Duterte was in compliance to the country’s obligation to the international community.
“Mr. Duterte was arrested in compliance with our commitments to Interpol. Hours before his arrival, Interpol Manila received an official copy of the ICC warrant. This prompted the prosecutor-general of the Department of Justice to serve the warrant,” Marcos said.
“Interpol asked for help and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don’t do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” he added.
The President further said that cooperating with the Interpol is expected from the Philippines as a part of the community of nations.
“This is what the international community expects of us as the leader of a democratic country that is a part of the community of nations,” Marcos said.
Presidential Communications Office’s (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro, for her part, said what the government did to the former President is in accordance with the law.
“What the government did was regular. It is based on the law, based on our law, RA (Republic Act) 9851,” Castro said in a media briefing on Wednesday noon.
“This is the first time that we did this. So, if you did everything based on the law, I think there would be no question on that,” she added.
Former President Duterte was apprehended by law enforcement officials on Tuesday morning, acting upon a warrant issued by the ICC in relation to his anti-drug campaign, shortly after his arrival in the Philippines from Hong Kong.
According to the ICC, Duterte is charged with “crime against humanity of murder” due to the crackdown during which rights organizations estimate that tens of thousands of predominantly impoverished men were killed by law enforcement and vigilantes, frequently without any evidence linking them to drug activities.
The Gulfstream G550 that transported Duterte to The Hague for trial before the ICC was expected to arrive in the Netherlands by late Wednesday./PN
