Arrest warrant in ICC probe may be issued in Q2 of 2024 – Trillanes

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 22) — The International Criminal Court (ICC) may issue an arrest warrant related to its drug war investigation in the country by the second quarter of this year, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV said.

In an interview with CNN Philippines' News Night on Monday, Trillanes said the ICC investigators were done with their probe "as far as the principal accused is concerned."

According to the former senator, former president Rodrigo Duterte is the principal accused in the tribunal's investigation.

"Next step dito ay 'yong pag-apply ng warrant of arrest which may come in a few months," Trillanes claimed. "Ang estimate natin, mga second quarter lalabas ang warrant of arrest."

[Translation: The next step would be applying the warrant of arrest which may come in a few months. In my estimate, the warrant of arrest may be issued by the second quarter.]

Trillanes said the secondary and tertiary accused in the probe were Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go, as well as Vice President Sara Duterte.

When asked about the alleged entry of ICC investigators in December, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the agency did not have "any confirmed reports or communications reaching our office to that effect."

Arrest warrant through Interpol?

The Philippines officially ceased to be a member-state of the ICC in March 2019 after the government, during Duterte's term, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the founding document of the tribunal. With the withdrawal, the country's security forces would not be obliged to implement arrest warrants issued by the court.

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"Pero ang Pilinas ay miyembro ng Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization), at ang ICC miyembro din ng Interpol," Trillanes told CNN Philippines. "Malamang sa malamang padadaanin sa Interpol 'yong pag-enforce ng warrant."

[Translation: But the Philippines is a member of Interpol, as well as the ICC. Enforcing the warrant might be processed through Interpol.]

He said once a "red notice" is issued by Interpol, the member-state must enforce it.

According to Interpol, a red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It added that a red notice is not an international arrest warrant.

When asked by the media on how the PNP can implement a possible warrant from the ICC, Acorda said: "With that aspect, I'll just get directive from the highest, from the higher office whatever treatment on this, if ever it will come out."

According to the ICC, the court's judges "must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the ICC."

"As a judicial institution, the ICC does not have its own police force or enforcement body; thus, it relies on cooperation with countries worldwide for support, particularly for making arrests, transferring arrested persons to the ICC detention center in The Hague, freezing suspects' assets, and enforcing sentences," it explained.