PNP: ‘Ready to assist’ if Interpol enforces arrest warrant vs. Duterte

Former President Rodrigo Duterte (RICHARD MADELO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday said it is “ready to assist” the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) if it enforces an arrest warrant against former President Rodrigo Duterte.

“When the time comes that they seek our assistance, then the PNP is ready to provide the necessary assistance,” PNP spokesperson BGen. Jean Fajardo said.

This comes a day after Duterte dared the International Criminal Court (ICC) to begin its probe into alleged crimes against humanity said to be committed under his presidency.

READ: Duterte dares ICC to begin probe immediately: ‘Baka mamatay na ako’

Duterte made the remark on Wednesday, Nov. 13, in his first appearance at the House of Representatives’ quad panel investigating his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

“If a warrant of arrest is issued and the Interpol asks us for assistance, then the PNP is bound by the security protocol with respect to assistance to be provided with our foreign counterparts,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

Although the Philippines is no longer an ICC member, it is still a part of the Interpol, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said last August.

READ: PH no longer ICC member but remains committed to Interpol – Remulla

Remulla, however, later maintained that the Interpol must go through the country’s court system to enforce an arrest warrant from the ICC.

READ: DOJ: Interpol to undergo PH court system to serve ICC arrest warrants

“There are existing mechanisms in terms of security assistance. There is no need to prepare for it because the mechanisms already work,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

“This will not be the first time for the Philippine National Police to extend assistance to our foreign counterparts in terms of arresting individual subjects, particularly those of red notices being issued by the Interpol,” she added.

The Interpol defines a red notice as “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person” when an individual is “wanted by the requesting member country or an international tribunal.”

In an ambush interview on Thursday morning, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government “will not block the ICC,” adding that the country has “obligations to the Interpol.”

READ: Marcos firm on non-cooperation with ICC over Duterte drug war probe

Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC in 2018, after the court began its initial probe into the drug war killings.

READ: Duterte does the inevitable, declares PH withdrawal from ICC

His successor Marcos initially maintained that the country would not rejoin the ICC but switched gears in 2023, saying his administration was “studying” proposals to rejoin.

READ: PH return to ICC fold ‘under study’– Bongbong Marcos

Human rights group to Marcos: Help ICC to arrest Duterte

Human rights group Karapatan urged Marcos to work with the ICC to arrest Duterte and his associates involved with the war on drugs.

In a statement on Thursday, Karapatan said, “It is the next logical step in the face of all the admissions Duterte has made under oath of having ordered the killings and having done some of the killings himself.”

“Accountability must be exacted in order to attain justice for the victims,” they added.

Last October 11, retired police colonel Royina Garma alleged that Duterte tapped National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo to implement a nationwide system to reward officers for killing drug suspects, based on a so-called Davao template.

READ: Garma says Davao drug war template, rewards system applied in entire PH

At Wednesday’s House hearing, Duterte admitted to killing six or seven people, and that he roamed Davao City looking for criminals to kill when he was mayor.

READ: Duterte: I killed 6 or 7 people in Davao, including erring cops

When Duterte testified at the Senate drug war probe last October 28, he said he formed a death squad composed of seven men in Davao but later insisted the term “death squad” was loosely used.

READ: Duterte admits to having ‘death squad,’ later insists it’s not one

The Senate was open to giving the ICC a transcript of its hearing, according to Senate President Francis Escudero.

READ: Senate willing to certify drug war probe transcript for ICC inquiry

The Human Rights Watch estimated that over 12,000 individuals were killed in the war on drugs under  Duterte.