Trillanes expects ICC arrest warrant vs. Duterte, others by June
duterte trillanes
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV expects a warrant of arrest to be issued against former President Rodrigo Duterte and others in connection to the investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by June.
Trillanes said the information came from individuals who are “privy to the investigations being done by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC.”
“Itong nasa stage na ‘yung ICC investigation na patapos na at baka magre-request na sila ng warrant… kaya ine-expect natin ito mga June at kung mag spillover man to July ‘yung warrant,” Trillanes said in a media briefing.
(The ICC is at the stage where they are wrapping up the investigation and they may request a warrant… so we are expecting this by June and it may spill over to July.)
“This will come in batches. The first batch si Duterte, the father. The second batch, baka sila (Senator) Bong Go, Bato (Senator Ronald dela Rosa), at si Vice President Sara Duterte. Tapos ang third batch would be some PNP officials and some other senior officials of the Duterte administration,” he added.
(This will come in batches. The first batch is for Duterte, the father. The second batch may be against Bong Go, Bato, and Vice President Sara Duterte. The third batch would be some PNP officials and some other senior officials of the Duterte administration.)
GMA News Online sought comment from the Duterte camp but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said his government will not serve any arrest warrant from the ICC against former President Duterte.
He also said does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Philippines, adding that he considers it a threat to Philippine sovereignty
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra previously said the court may issue a warrant against officials of the Philippine government, but its enforcement is another matter.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, previously stressed that the foreign entities must first obtain the approval of several government agencies before conducting official activities within the Philippines.
According to Trillanes, the ICC may push for the arrest warrant through the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
“Kung idadaan sa INTERPOL ‘yung warrant of arrest, kahit na hindi tayo miyembro ng ICC pero miyembro tayo ng INTERPOL. May international agreement tayo. Ang ICC naman may cooperation agreement kay INTERPOL kaya pwede silang magpasa ng red notice diyan,” he said.
(If the warrant of arrest goes through INTERPOL, even if we are no longer a member of the ICC, we are still a member of INTERPOL. We have an international agreement. And ICC has a cooperation agreement with INTERPOL so they can pass the red notice to them.)
According to INTERPOL, a red notice is “to seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.”
Blue notice
Meanwhile, Trillanes said that INTERPOL may also issue a blue notice against former and active officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who are persons of interest in the ICC investigation.
He said the ICC wrote to around 50 former and active officials.
“Ang ilan sa mga ito ay nagcooperate in their individual capacity. Doon sa mga hindi nagcooperate ay malamang sa malamang ma-issuehan sila ng tinatawag na blue notice from the INTERPOL or blue diffusion,” he said.
A blue notice is “to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location, or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.”
The Philippines, under Duterte, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after the tribunal began a probe into his administration’s drug war.
The scope of the ICC probe were killings that transpired from November 2011 until March 2019, including those killings made by Davao Death Squad when the elder Duterte was still the mayor of Davao City before assuming presidency in June 2016.—AOL, GMA Integrated News
This article Trillanes expects ICC arrest warrant vs. Duterte, others by June was originally published in GMA News Online.