Malacañang on Friday denied allegations of betrayal after it assisted the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in enforcing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said the administration was simply upholding Philippine law and not acting against Duterte.
“If we think about it, the President has not committed any betrayal against anyone because we are only enforcing our own laws,” Castro said in an interview with Unang Balita.
She added that cooperating with Interpol does not equate to betrayal.
“It would be more difficult for the administration to betray its own laws. There is no betrayal if the government is merely implementing laws by cooperating with Interpol,” Castro said.
She pointed to Republic Act (RA) 9851, also known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, as the legal basis for the government’s actions.
“It just so happened that there is already a pending case before the ICC, and we are just complying with and enforcing RA 9851, especially Section 17… That provision states that authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court or another state pursuant to applicable extradition laws and treaties,” Castro said.