The Philippine National Police (PNP) is prepared to assist the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in serving arrest warrants that could potentially be issued against those suspected of helping former President Rodrigo Duterte implement his bloody war on drugs.
On Sunday, PNP spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said that Duterte’s arrest last week has already provided the national police a template on how to serve such warrants.
She, however, refused to speculate on who will be charged alongside the former president, and when the International Criminal Court (ICC) will issue warrants for their arrest.
“First of all, we don’t want to preempt the process. However, we know that there are others also being charged apart from the former president. But since Duterte had already been arrested, we already have a template for what to do with others,” Fajardo said during a televised interview with Super Radyo DZBB.
“This means that if there will be other arrest warrants issued and the Interpol asks again for assistance from the PNP, we are ready to provide such and we will implement this warrant in accordance with our existing laws,” she added.
Earlier, ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti said Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde could be the next to receive arrest warrants from the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity after Duterte was turned over to the court.
“There are three names mentioned in the ICC documents. These are Duterte, dela Rosa and Albayalde. There are three additional names of police officers who are allegedly involved as well, but the documents pertaining to them are still unofficial,” the lawyer noted.
As this developed, lawyer Joel Ruiz Butuyan, an ICC-accredited lawyer and chairperson of the Center for International Law (CenterLaw), said the ICC prosecutor is also duty-bound to provide Duterte and his alleged accomplices pieces of evidence, if any, that may aid in their defense.
“That’s a big privilege because here in the Philippines, we have no such thing. In fact, at the ICC, the prosecutor is obliged to give him [Duterte] evidence they gathered that can aid in his defense. That’s one of the differences between the ICC and the Philippines,” he said in Filipino during a radio interview.
“The trial that will take place will be so fair because even at the prosecution level, they have the obligation to hand over to him any piece of favorable evidence that might come upon,” he added.
Last Tuesday, the PNP served an ICC arrest warrant against Duterte for crimes against humanity committed as part of a so-called drug war that officially killed more than 6,000 people, but rights groups argue that as many as 30,000 were slain.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “PNP ready to help Interpol track down Duterte drug war enforcers”