MANILA, Philippines – WHEN no becomes no, but…
THE Philippines will no longer block any arrest warrants the International Criminal Police Organization will issue in connection to the International Criminal Court’s probe on the brutal war on drugs of the Duterte administration.
However, the ICC won’t get support from the government – a contrast to the country’s previous hardline stance of not letting external hand dip into local legal affairs.
This is a tricky situation the Marcos administration cannot ignore, said Justice Secretary Boying Remulla Thursday.
“We are not in the business of blocking any movement at Interpol unless a policy is laid out which of course will go against our international commitments,” Remulla said when asked how the government will respond if the ICC issues arrest warrants to drug war suspects.
“‘Pag hinarang mo ‘yan, magkakaroon tayo ng repercussions as a country. Pag-aralan pa rin namin kung anong pwedeng gawin but we are not in the business of blocking the Interpol’s job which is to fight international crime,” he said.
The possibility of the ICC issuing warrants to the main characters of the war on drugs floated following the revelation of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV that;
Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Chief Romeo Caramat Jr., former National Police Commission Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo, and former PNP Intelligence Officer Eleazar Mata are now all considered suspects in the drug war along with the former President.
“Most of the time we respect the action of the Interpol, 99 percent of the time, maybe 99.99% of the time,” Remulla said.
The DOJ has also submitted a legal brief to the Palace detailing all of the government’s legal options in connection with the intervention of the Interpol.
Ph won’t cooperate
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra admitted that indeed, the ICC had initiated a correspondence requesting the assistance of the Philippine government to facilitate the interviews of the five individuals.
“ICC prosecutor cannot apply for a warrant of arrest unless he has full information about the facts that happened in the Philippine drug war,” Guevarra said in an interview.
So far, the ICC prosecutor, according to Guevarra, has seen much on the side of the complainants but nothing much on the side of those being accused.
It is the duty of the prosecutor, as stated in article 54 of the Rome Statute, to investigate all facts whether incriminating or exonerating so that a balanced picture is presented to the pre-trial chamber which determines whether a warrant of arrest will be issued or not, said Guevarra.
Non-cooperation of the Philippine government however does not mean the ICC prosecutor cannot continue his investigation, said Guevarra.
“The Philippine government cannot stop him from proceeding in any way he wants. He can directly interview persons of interest online, through phone, by email, face-to-face, subject to the consent of these persons,” Guevarra said.
“But the ICC prosecutor cannot expect that the Philippine government will facilitate it for him,” he said.
