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No red notice only 'red diffusion' from Interpol for Duterte's arrest — PCTC
There was no red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), only a red diffusion for the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) confirmed in a Senate hearing Thursday.
PCTC Executive Director Anthony Alcantara admitted this as Senator Imee Marcos presented a copy of the diffusion which was sent early morning on the day of Duterte’s arrest.
“Ang dumating po sa atin ay isang difussion, commonly tinatawag na red diffusion,” Alcantara said, noting that this is “equivalent to a red notice.”
(What we received was a diffusion, commonly referred to as red diffusion.)
However, Marcos pointed out that an Interpol diffusion is different from a notice.
“Ang difussion po ay hindi red notice. Tingnan na lang natin ang website,” the senator pointed out.
“It’s an unverified report requesting for information, humihingi lang, makikipaki lang sa kapwa member na kung maaring tulungan ninyo kami pero hindi siya verified, hindi sya dumadaan sa kanilang commissioner, hindi siya pinopost sa website katulad ng red notice,” Marcos added.
(It’s an unverified report requesting for information ... a request to a fellow member for assistance but it is not verified. It does not go through a commissioner, it's not posted on the website unlike a red notice.)
Alcantara maintained that the diffusion “went through of the organization’s police database.”
He further explained that there are different kinds of diffusion and what Marcos was mentioning was a “blue diffusion” which is merely “seeking information.”
“Hindi information ang hinihingi po. It is a wanted person notice. Diffusion. Wanted person po ang nandoon,” Alcantara said.
(What is being asked is not information. It is a wanted person notice. Diffusion. A wanted person is there.)
‘Diffusion’
According to the Interpol website, member countries may also request cooperation from each other through another mechanism other than the notices known as a 'diffusion.'
“Diffusions are circulated directly by a member country’s National Central Bureau to all or some other member countries. Diffusions correspond to the Notices color-coded system, so there are red, yellow, blue, black, green, purple and orange diffusions, and they must comply with INTERPOL’s Constitution and the Rules on the Processing of Data,” the Interpol said on its website.
“Wanted persons (red) diffusions – those circulated to arrest, detain, or restrict the movement of a convicted or accused person – are checked for compliance by the Notices and Diffusions Task Force,” it added.
According to Alcantara, the diffusion from the Interpol was disseminated immediately to law enforcement agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Immigration, and the Department of Justice because “there was an urgency.”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla also defended the immediate arrest of Duterte on the same day the Interpol’s diffusion was released.
“Baka dahil sa panahon, dahil mabilis po ang paghanap, mabilis pong nangyari. Marahil sa ordinaryong pagkakataon nandyan po ang notice pero dito walang pagkakataon marahil,” Remulla said.
Believing that notices are different from diffusions, Marcos slammed the procedure, saying this alert from the Interpol was not yet verified.
“So lumundag na tayo mula sa diffusion, hindi man lang na-confirm, hindi man lang napatibayan, hindi man lang nadaan sa commissioner nila, hindi man lang nalagay sa website o naging opisyal, lumundag na agad tayo?” Marcos said.
(So we jumped right away from the diffusion, not even confirmed, didn't even pass the commissioner, not even posted on the website or became official, yet we jumped on it?)
“Nag-mobilize ang pamahalaan ng libo libo, 7,000 ang pinagmalaki na kapulisan, para sa isang request for information ng Interpol na unverified. Pinahihingi lang, walang sinasabing nagmamadali pero lahat ng government resources pinaandar na dahil sa simpleng request ng kapwa myembro,” she quipped.
(The government mobilized 7,000 policemen for a request concerning unverified Interpol information. It was just a request, no mention of urgency yet all government resources were utilized because of that simple request by a fellow member.)
Marcos also pointed out that the Interpol’s diffusion indicated that the request was made “after prior consultation with the Government of the Philippines.”
She raised suspicion that there was indeed coordination between the Philippine government and the ICC before the receipt of diffusion on March 11.
“So hindi totoo na March 11, 3 a.m. lang ninyo nalaman kasi nakasabi dito sa page 1 ‘after prior consultation with the Government of the Philippines who have agreed to this request,’” Marcos said.
(So it’s not true that you've learned this only on March 11, 3 a.m. because under Page 1, ‘after prior consultation with the Government of the Philippines who have agreed to this request.)
“Ibig sabihin ang pamahalaan ay nakausap na… Ikalawa, sumang-ayon na. So ibig sabihin, ito, formal transmittal lang. Walang sinasabi dito na biglaan ito. Kaya nga March 10 pa lang, 7,000 na pulis na ang minobilize eh,” she added.
(This means that the goverment had been coordinated with. Second, it agreed. This means, this is only a formal transmittal. This is not a sudden notice ... that's whay as early as March 10, around 7,000 policemen have been mobilized.)
But Alcantara said it should be the ICC who should be asked about that phrase in the diffusion.
“Ang matatanong po natin dyan ay yung nag-apply po, ang ICC. Sila po ang naglagay niyan eh (We should the ICC since they were the ones who applied for that),” Alcantara said.
This earned the ire of Marcos who said, “So nagsisinungaling ang Interpol (So you're saying the Interpol is lying?),”
“Ang sinasabi pa rito na hugas kamay ang Interpol at hindi pa sila gumagawa ng compliance review. Hindi pa nila naimbestigahan, hindi pa napaptunayan itong diffusion at kung may duda sabihan na lang sila dahil hindi pa nila naasikaso ito,” Marcos said, referring to the disclaimer on the Interpol’s document.
(And it’s stated here that Interpol is washing its hands off and they have not conducted a compliance review. They have yet to investigate, the diffusion has yet to confirmed and should doubt arise, they would just be informed since they have yet to attend to this.)
Remulla, in response, noted that the Interpol was just “following the format” of the diffusion document.
“Hindi po lahat ng sinasabi dyan ay ganon na lang po ang katotohanan kasi nag-iingat lang po sila na makatabig sila ng mali. Marami po sila paniguradong mga salita sa kanilang form letter,” he said.
“Katulad niyan nung sinabi na ‘pagkatapos makipag ugnay sa Gobyerno ng Republika ng Pilipinas,’ ang palaisipan ko po ay sino ang kausap nila dito dahil hindi naman po kami ang kausap,” he added.
But Marcos remained not convinced.
“Sinasabi niyo palusot lang ito? Hindi ‘to totoo? Paano tayo maniniwala sa Interpol nito?” Marcos said.
(Are you saying, this is just an alibi? This is not true? How can we trust the Interpol?)
Remulla maintained that it was the format of Interpol’s diffusion, reiterating that they were not aware of it until the PCTC received it.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año echoed Remulla’s statement, saying he is not aware of any coordination with the ICC and only learned of the diffusion early morning of March 11.
Moreover, Marcos noted that the Interpol’s diffusion stated that the action must be taken was to “locate and arrest with a view to extradition.”
Remulla explained that there are two options under the International Humanitarian Law which are extradition or surrender.
“We chose the surrender path, ma’am, not surrender,” the Justice secretary said, adding that this was done in compliance with Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
‘Commitments’
At a press briefing late in the evening of March 11, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos said the arrest was done “because Interpol asked us to do it and we have commitments.”
During Duterte’s term in 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal started a probe into his drug war
According to the arrest warrant, the ICC pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe he was "individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder" in connection with the killings blamed on his war on drugs.
It stated that the Duterte Death Squad (DDS) and Philippine law enforcement personnel under his leadership targeted persons allegedly involved in drug-related criminal activities.
Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and say that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
