No confirmed Interpol red notice yet for Rodrigo Duterte — Palace
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has yet to receive any red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) regarding former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed in a press briefing that they have not yet received any information from Interpol.
“Wala pa tayo natatanggap na communication patungkol sa red notice at nakausap din natin si Asec. Mico [Clavano] from the DOJ (Department of Justice) and as of now, tinitingnan nila ang kanilang mga records. As of now, wala pang natatanggap na komunikasyon tungkol diyan,” Castro said.
(We have not received communication about a red notice and we have spoken to Asec. Mico from the DOJ and as of now, they are looking into their records. As of now, we have not received communication about this.)
Should an official copy be relayed to the Palace, Castro said they will make it public.
Over the weekend, an exclusive report from Rappler claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had already issued an arrest warrant for Duterte.
Citing information from the DOJ, Castro said that since the Philippines is not a member of the ICC, the usual channels for communicating such messages were unavailable. The ICC could have instead relayed the message to the Office of the President or the DOJ.
Castro emphasized that the government's stance remains unchanged: the Marcos administration will cooperate with Interpol, not the ICC.
The ICC itself has reiterated that it will not comment on the matter.
On the same weekend that the Rappler story broke, Duterte flew to Hong Kong for a campaign sortie.
When asked if the Palace is prepared in case the former president attempts to flee the country over the Interpol arrest, Castro said they have yet to consider the possibility of him evading the law.
“We cannot conclude that there is this propensity on the part of former president Duterte that he would skip, considering that he was the one who asked for this,” Castro said.
Duterte has repeatedly stated that he is ready to face the ICC. During his trip to Hong Kong, he appeared nonchalant about the reported arrest warrant, saying that if he were detained, he would accept it. He also denied committing crimes against humanity during his presidency.
Castro said law enforcement agencies are prepared to serve the warrant of arrest upon the request of Interpol.
Should there be unrest following the arrest, Castro said that the government will handle it.
“Yung mga taumbayan, kung sino man ang supporters, makinig nalang kayo sa kung ano sinasabi ng batas,” Castro appealed to Duterte's supporters.
(For the citizens, whoever the supporters are, just listen to what the law says.)
Castro referenced the arrest of the doomsday pastor Apollo Quiboloy in 2024, which saw his supporters rally in the streets of Davao City.
The ICC has been probing the reported human rights violations that occurred during Duterte’s bloody drug war in the Philippines. While government tallies count around 6,000 deaths in relation to illegal drug operations, human rights groups tally the deaths to as high as 30,000.
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