DFA defers actions on ICC warrant vs. Duterte to DOJ, other agencies

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo (PNA photo by Joyce Rocamora)

MANILA, Philippines – Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo said Tuesday the agency has yet to issue any instruction to its foreign mission in The Hague, as it defers actions related to the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte to law enforcement agencies, including the justice department.

Duterte was taken into custody by the Philippine National Police after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest accusing him of crimes against humanity in the context of his campaign against illegal drugs during his presidency.

“This is a development which is being handled by other agencies, especially the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police and the Department of Justice,” Manalo said in an ambush interview on the sidelines of his bilateral meeting with Slovenian Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon in Manila.

“We defer all activities or matters on this issue to them. I’m really not familiar with the procedure, because as you know, we’re not a member of the ICC.”

He said the DFA has not been in communication with the ICC since its withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect in 2019.

Asked what the Philippine Embassy in the Netherlands would play should the former chief executive be brought to The Hague for trial, Manalo also declined to answer.

“I can’t speculate, we have to see how the events unfold,” he said.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) confirmed that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Manila received the official copy of the ICC warrant of arrest against Duterte on Tuesday morning.

Upon his arrival from Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific flight CX 907, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to him for crimes against humanity.

The former president, it said, is now in the custody of authorities.

The ICC in September 2021 began its probe into the Philippines’ situation covering the campaign against illegal drugs from November 2011 to March 16, 2019, when Duterte was still Davao City mayor.

Investigations were suspended in November 2021 after Manila requested a deferral as local authorities looked into alleged deaths and abuses during the anti-illegal drugs campaign.

In 2023, the ICC authorized the resumption of the probe.

The Philippines became a member of the ICC in November 2011 but withdrew on March 17, 2018, a move that took effect on March 17, 2019.