Whether or not the UniTeam is intact, the government will still cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, said Malacanang Press Officer Claire Castro on Friday, March 14, 2025. PHOTO FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION OFFICE
MANILA, Philippines — Whether or not the UniTeam is intact, this will not change the government’s decision to cooperate with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in the arrest of President Rodrigo Duterte, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said.
At a Palace briefing on Friday, Castro was asked if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would still cooperate with Interpol, which implemented the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), if he and Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, did not have a fallout.
Marcos and his vice president ran under the “UniTeam” banner in the 2022 national elections, but their political alliance has since been severed with her resignation from her post as education secretary last year.
“Of course, we will just abide by the law. ‘Yun po, kung ano man po ‘yung naging kasunduan with the Interpol, kahit sino pa po ‘yan, nagkaroon ng…meron pang Uniteam, walang Uniteam, it will be the same,” Castro replied.
(Of course, we will just abide by the law. Whatever the agreement with Interpol is, no matter who it involves—whether the Uniteam still exists or not—it will be the same.)
“Hindi tayo pwedeng magkaroon ng special treatment dahil lang may friendship,” Castro added.
(We cannot grant special treatment just because of friendship.)
Police assisted Interpol in arresting Duterte upon his arrival from Hong Kong last Tuesday and he was flown several hours after to The Hague, Netherlands via a government-chartered plane.
READ: Palace: Paying for Duterte chartered plane part of PH duty to Interpol
The elder Duterte and Marcos have a long-standing rift that began before the latter became president in 2022.
The former president had repeatedly accused Marcos of using illegal drugs, which Marcos has also repeatedly denied.
In his speech during a senatorial sortie last February 13, Duterte once again accused Marcos of using illegal drugs, saying that by the age of 80, Marcos is probably “no longer moving.”
READ:Ex-President Duterte claims Marcos uses heroin
“Merong isang presidente na talagang bangag. [Hindi naman] buang, pero ‘yung bisyo ng droga long term ‘yan. Maging ulol si Marcos. Maybe constant use of heroin — aabot pa siguro siya ng 80, pero sa panahon na ‘yan, hindi na siya gumagalaw,” Duterte said.
(There is a president who is truly high. [Not exactly] insane, but drug addiction has long-term effects. Marcos would go mad. Maybe with constant use of heroin, he might reach 80, but by then, he wouldn’t be able to move anymore.)
Vice President Duterte, meanwhile, had threatened to have Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez assassinated if any harm befell her.
READ: Sara backtracks on remarks vs Marcos
“I already talked to someone. I told the person, ‘If they kill me, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke. I’ve left instructions,” Duterte said in Filipino in an online press conference last year.