Imee insists gov’t had prior talks with ICC about Duterte’s arrest

Sen. Imee Marcos–Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines —- Contrary to the administration’s claims, there had already been discussions between the Marcos administration and the International Criminal Court (ICC) about the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

This was according to Sen. Imee Marcos, who on Thursday based this on a copy of the diffusion notice from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

READ: Duterte arrest: Marcos Cabinet members deny assisting ICC

“So maliwanag — tama po na dumating ng 3:04 ng umaga. Ang liwanag. Ang request dito [ay] after prior consultation with the government of the Philippines. So hindi totoo na March 11 [ng] 3 am niyo lang nalaman. Kasi nakasabi rito sa page 1 [ay] after prior consultation with the Philippines who have agreed to comply with this request,” said Marcos.

(So it’s clear — it’s right, it arrived at 3:04 in the morning. The request here states that it was made prior consultation with the government of the Philippines.  So it’s not true that you were only made aware at 3 am on March 11. Because it states here on page 1 that the Philippine government agreed to comply with such a request following prior consultation.)

“Ibig sabihin ang pamahalaan ay nakausap na – una. Ikalawa sumang ayon na, so ibig sabihin ito formal transmittal lang. Walang sinasabi dito na biglaan ito. Kaya nga March 10 pa lang pitong libong pulis na ang mino-mobilize,” she added.

(Firstly, this means that the government had discussions with them already. Secondly, it already agreed. So this means that this is only a formal transmittal.  There’s nothing in here that states that this was done haphazardly. That’s why as early as March 10, there were thousands of police officers mobilized.)

Marcos’ disclosure came after members of the administration’s Cabinet insisted that there was zero communication between the government and the  international tribunal.

Later into the hearing, Marcos presented copies of an Interpol diffusion and red notice. She said these two are entirely different things.

“Ibang iba po ‘yun. Ni walang red notice at yung diffusion ay parang tinimbre lang sa Interpol na mga miyembro at hindi dinaan mismong review,” said Marcos.

(Those two are different things. We didn’t even receive a red notice and this diffusion was only notified to Interpol without going through review.)

Philippine Center on Transnational Crime Executive Director Anthony Alcantara explained that a diffusion is a standardized request to arrest, detain, or restrict movement of the accused.

“Pero hindi po ibig sabihin non na wala siyang value,” said Alcantara.

(But this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have value.)

“Whether it is a red notice or wanted person diffusion, obligado po tayong mag comply,” he added.

(Whether it is a red notice or wanted person diffusion, we are obliged to comply.)

Alcantara, for his part, confirmed that there was no red notice issued prior to Duterte’s arrest.

“Gaya po ng sinabi ko kanina, ang diffusion po at looking for wanted persons [ay] pareho lang po ng red notice,” said Alcantara.

(Similar to what I said earlier, diffusion and looking for wanted persons is similar to a red notice.)

Marcos, however, argued that these two are different things, proceeding to question if the Philippine government has an obligation to the Interpol, noting that it was only a diffusion notice and yet the government immediately acted on it.

“Katulad din po yan ng ibang red notices na hindi natin nakukuha. Hindi ko po masasagot ang gagawin ng Interpol sa atin, pero ang masasabi ko ay we have to comply with both diffusion and the red notice. We need to,” said Alcantara.

(That’s similar to other red notices that we don’t receive. I can’t answer what the Interpol would do to us, but what I can say is we have to comply with both diffusion and the red notice. We need to.)

Duterte was served an arrest warrant from the ICC upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong on March 11.

READ: Gov’t assisted in arresting Duterte because of Interpol, not ICC

The arrest warrant was issued on the grounds of alleged crimes against humanity Duterte committed for the anti-drug campaign he orchestrated when he was still in power.