PNP FULFILLS DUTY
PHILIPPINE National Police officials on Tuesday morning placed under their custody former President Rodrigo R. Duterte on the strength of a warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity forwarded to the headquarters of Interpol Manila.
The firebrand 79-year-old former Davao City mayor who was charged with “crime against humanity of murder” by the ICC was placed under custody shortly after he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hongkong.
Duterte was found to be in good condition after being checked by government doctors.
Officers who placed him under custody wore body-worn cameras as part of routine procedures.
PNP chief General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil and PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group director Major Gen. Nicolas D. Torre III went to the NAIA early in the morning to check the security measures in the facility.
It was Maj. Gen. Torre who read the Miranda Rights to the former president who was taken to Villamor Air Base’s Kalayaan Hall from the NAIA Terminal 3.
“The Philippine National Police (PNP) assisted the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) this morning in implementing an Interpol Notice for former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte upon his arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Hong Kong on March 11, 2025,” said PNP Public Information Office chief Colonel Randulf T. Tuaño.
“To ensure a peaceful and orderly process, the PNP deployed 379 personnel at NAIA and other key locations. PNP Chief, Police General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, along with Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Director, Police Major General Nicolas Torre III, supervised security measures at the airport,” the official added in a press statement.
Col. Tuaño also said that “the PNP remains committed to assisting in lawful processes while maintaining peace and order.”
“ In fulfilling this role, the organization upholds its duty to enforce the law with professionalism and adherence to due process. The PNP urges the public to remain calm and avoid spreading misinformation.
Furthermore, the PNP strongly cautions against the spread of fake news and advises the public to rely only on official government sources for accurate information,” he added.
The Presidential Communications Office said the Interpol Manila received the official copy of warrant of arrest issued against Duterte by the ICC before dawn on Tuesday.
“The Prosecutor General served the ICC notification for the arrest warrant on Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity after he landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport,” the PCO said.
Police placed the NAIA under lockdown early in the morning.
The former president was taken to the heavily-secured Philippine Air Force headquarters in Villamor Air Base after he was placed under police custody.
Former Duterte legal counsel Attorney Salvador Panelo branded the “arrest” as unlawful.
“It’s unlawful arrest. The PNP didn’t allow one of his lawyers to meet him at the airport and to question the legal basis for PRRD’s arrest,” Panelo said.
“He was deprived of legal representation at the time of his arrest,” Panelo added. “The PNP could not have a hard copy of the warrant arrest.”
Panelo said the “arrest” was illegal because the warrant comes from a spurious source, the ICC which he said has no jurisdiction over the Philippines.
The lawyer said they will hold members of the “arresting team” criminally liable for their action.
The ICC has been investigating Duterte and other top officials of his administration for crimes against humanity over the alleged systematic drug war deaths in police operations which, official records said claimed around 6,000 lives.
Duterte however said he will question the legality of his arrest and he would face the charges against him directly as a lawyer.
He also said he would not escape in another country.
On Monday, the PNP said it is “prepared for any eventuality” as it maintained it is “duty-bound” to assist the Interpol if it enforces any arrest warrant against the Duterte patriarch.
PNP spokesperson Brigadier Gen. Jean S. Fajardo, who was also at the airport, said the PNP is duty-bound to enforce any Interpol request regarding the matter citing the principle of reciprocity which was previously used by the police force in tracking down fugitives who have fled to Interpol member-countries.
One of them is former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo who was tracked down in her hiding place in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 4 last year by combined agents of the PNP, the Bureau of Immigration and their Indon counterparts.
The ICC which already has no jurisdiction over the country may issue a warrant of arrest but still needs the help of Interpol since they have no law enforcement units.
The Interpol National Central Bureau in the Philippines is the focal point for all Interpol activities in the country.
The NCB connects the country’s national law enforcement with other countries and with Interpol’s General Secretariat.
Last August, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said although The Philippines is no longer an ICC member, it is still a part of the Interpol.
However, the Justice secretary maintained that the Interpol must go through the country’s court system to enforce an arrest warrant from the ICC.
The Interpol defines a red notice as “a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person” when an individual is “wanted by the requesting member country or an international tribunal.”
