Palace: UniTeam breakup didn’t lead to Duterte arrest

MANILA, Philippines — With or without the falling out between President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte, the administration will do the same and assist the Interpol in arresting former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is facing charges for “crimes against humanity,” Malacañang said yesterday.

The 79-year-old Duterte, the Vice President’s father, was arrested for crimes against humanity upon his arrival in Manila from Hong Kong on Tuesday, and was flown on the same day to The Hague in the Netherlands, home of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Philippine government enforced an ICC arrest warrant coursed through the Interpol. At a late-night press conference on Tuesday, Marcos said the government merely fulfilled its responsibilities and commitments to the international community in cooperating with the Interpol regarding the arrest of Duterte.

In an interview at Malacañang, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro maintained the administration merely followed the law in surrendering Duterte to the ICC.

“Of course, we will just abide by the law. That’s it. Whatever the agreement with the Interpol, whoever the person involved, whether or not there is UniTeam, it will be the same,” Castro said in Filipino.

“We can’t have special treatment just because of friendship,” said Castro, referring to the UniTeam tandem formed between Marcos and Duterte and won them landslide victories in the 2022 national elections.

Some analysts were saying the arrest of the former president would not have happened had there not been a rift between the country’s two top leaders.

Castro earlier said it was the prerogative of Marcos to comply with the Interpol’s request for assistance.

“This is not just surrendering a Filipino citizen, it is surrendering a Filipino citizen who is accused of crimes against humanity, specifically murder, so it would be a different story. So, we have to comply with the law and also give justice either to the victims or the accused,” she said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Castro added the chartering of a plane to bring former president Duterte to the ICC was part of the Marcos government’s assistance to the Interpol.

“As we said, if they (Interpol) ask for assistance, we should give complete support, because without providing the airplane to bring the former president to the ICC, it would be like an incomplete response to our commitment to Interpol,” Castro said. — Jose Rodel Clapano