Did the Philippines Really Surrender Duterte to the ICC?
Malacañang chartered the flight but it's not as simple as it sounds.
(SPOT.ph) On March 11, Rodrigo Duterte's homecoming from Hong Kong was brief—by nightfall, he was already on his way to The Hague in the Netherlands. His daughter, Sara, claimed in a strongly-worded statement that the Philippine government had “surrendered” one of its own to foreign powers—a “blatant affront to our sovereignty.” Was the current administration actually responsible for his handover to the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in a press conference that same night that the arrest of the former president was in line with the Philippines’ obligations to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
“Interpol asked for help, and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don’t do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” Marcos said. “This is what the international community expects of us as the leader of a democratic country that is part of the community of nations.”
The ICC and Interpol are separate organizations that collaborate to handle serious international crimes. The ICC is a judicial body that prosecutes individuals for crimes, while Interpol is a global police organization that assists law enforcement agencies. In 2004, the two signed a cooperation agreement that ICC could request Interpol to issue notices, such as red notices, to help locate fugitives around the world.
Also read: Duterte Is Arrested on ICC Warrant. What Happens Next?
What is the Philippines' role in Duterte’s arrest?
Marcos explained that Interpol Manila had received an official copy of the ICC warrant against Duterte for his involvement in the war on drugs, prompting the Department of Justice to take action. The Prosecutor General of the DOJ personally served the warrant as Duterte disembarked from his Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong at 9:20 a.m. at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Speaking to ANC, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed that the plane used to transfer Duterte was chartered by the Office of the President.
As for Sara's claim that our sovereignty is compromised: “Is it a foreign power? Yes. But is it a foreign, sovereign identity? It is not,” Remulla said, referring to the ICC. “It is a tribunal court composed of nationals from different countries. Did we submit him to a foreign leader? We did not.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) also played a key role in assisting the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime in enforcing the Interpol Notice. PNP Chief Rommel Francisco Marbil and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Director General Nicolas Torre III, along with 379 other personnel, supervised security measures at the airport.
However, Remulla clarified that the Philippine government will not provide financial support to the families of extrajudicial killing victims who are pursuing cases in the international court, as the current administration is not directly cooperating with the ICC.
“We have not cooperated with the ICC. No member of this government has had a conversation with the ICC. They did their investigation on their own,” Remulla said.
Previously in November 2024, Marcos said that the Philippines would not cooperate with the ICC in its investigation unless Duterte allowed it: “If ‘yun ang gugustuhin ni PRRD ay hindi naman kami haharang doon sa mga ICC. Hindi lang kami tutulong. Wala na kaming desisyon doon.”
Also read: The International Criminal Court: What Is It and What Does It Do?