Gov't won't object if Duterte wants to surrender to ICC — Bersamin

The government will not object if former President Rodrigo Duterte wants to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Wednesday.

Bersamin issued the statement after Duterte dared the ICC to come to the country as early as tomorrow, Nov. 14, and investigate him over the alleged crimes against humanity in his anti-drug campaign.

"If the former President desires to surrender himself to the jurisdiction of the ICC, the government will neither object to it nor move to block the fulfillment of his desire," Bersamin said in a statement.

The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after The Hague-based tribunal began a probe into the Duterte administration's drug war.

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration's anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related slays.

Bersamin said that should the ICC refer the process to the International Criminal Police Organization's (Interpol), the government "will feel obliged" to cooperate should the anti-crime organization issue a red notice to Philippine authorities.

According to Interpol, a red notice is a "request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action."

"[T]he government will feel obliged to consider the red notice as a request to be honored, in which case the domestic law enforcement agencies shall be bound to accord full cooperation to the Interpol pursuant to established protocols," Bersamin said.

In August, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the government is not in the business of blocking any movement of the Interpol.

“Allow us to reiterate the DOJ's position for clarity, the Secretary has repeatedly said that despite the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute, the country remains a member country of the Interpol,” the DOJ said in a statement.

“Thus, when requests are made by the ICC through the Interpol and Interpol, in turn, relays such requests to our country, the Philippine government is legally obliged to accord due course to the same, by all means,” it added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stood firm that he will not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC in the Philippines. He also previously said that his administration will not serve any arrest warrant from the ICC against Duterte. — VDV/RF, GMA Integrated News