Ex-President Duterte may be arrested as easily as Teves, says Trillanes
Updated @ 2:25 p.m., March 23, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — The recent arrest of expelled Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. is an “example” of how former President Rodrigo Duterte would be nabbed should the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue an order for it, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday
In a tweet on Friday, Trillanes said this would be the case “if the ICC warrant is also passed through Interpol.”
“This is an obligation of an Interpol member state like the Philippines,” he said on Friday.
“Like what was done to Teves, when Interpol handed down its ‘red notice’ or international warrant of arrest to the Timor-Leste police, it did not question the validity of the red notice but immediately arrested Teves,” Trillanes added in Filipino.
‘Zero credibility, grossly ignorant’
In a message to INQUIRER.net, Duterte’s camp refuted Trillanes’ remarks.
Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s former legal counsel, said the Trillanes “hallucinating again” and all his remarks were nothing but a mere bluff.
According to Panelo, Teves’ case is different as he has a lawsuit in the Philippines.
“His case is under the jurisdiction of the Philippines. The ICC has no jurisdiction over our country and [former President Duterte],” Panelo said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“Trillanes has zero credibility. He knows nothing about laws and he’s just pretending to know something, trying to find publicity for himself. The PNP said that they will follow the foreign policy of [President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.]. They will not arrest [former President Duterte] if the ICC issues something because it has no jurisdiction over the country,” he added.
In a separate text message, the former presidential spokesperson, Harry Roque, labeled Trillanes as someone “grossly ignorant of international law.”
“The arrest of an accused in the ICC is wholly dependent on the cooperation of a State Party to the ICC. The Philippines is no longer a party to the Rome statute and has ceased to have a duty to cooperate with the Court,” Roque told INQUIRER.net.
Trillanes previously claimed that ICC investigators had gathered sufficient evidence against former President Duterte and that a warrant of arrest against him might be issued “very soon.”
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. previously made it clear that his administration “will not lift a finger to help any investigation that the ICC conducts.”