Under arrest

Killing and Rodrigo Duterte seem to be inseparable.

As he was being escorted out of the plane from Hong Kong yesterday morning, his comment to those apprehending him was, “...if you don’t have a warrant, you will just have to kill me.”

Since killing got him in his current tight spot in the first place, and the escorts had no intention of joining him in The Hague, his arrest proceeded peacefully.

His lawyers and loyalists led by Sen. Bong Go were the ones who were agitated, as Duterte was whisked off through the NAIA ramp to neighboring Villamor Air Base. Journalists were barred from entering the NAIA 1 building.

 The loyalists had planned to play the illness card to get custody of Duterte, with Go arriving in an ambulance ostensibly for his boss. Duterte himself, however, didn’t seem interested in feigning “life-threatening” illness, as his camp claimed yesterday afternoon. He ignored the wheelchair that was pushed behind him as he walked out of the passenger tube to the airport terminal.

Watching him being bundled off for his date with the International Criminal Court (ICC), the common question was, will Rodrigo Duterte finally answer for crimes against humanity?

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The other question was whether his fate will put an end to impunity in extrajudicial killings by state forces. Will the sight of Duterte being led to Interpol and then ICC custody make those with a propensity for short cuts to law enforcement think twice before engaging in EJKs?

Equally important, will his fate lead to the arrest of those accused or convicted of EJKs in his war on drugs? Those involved were mainly members of the Philippine National Police.

The environment that prompts some law enforcers to resort to short cuts – which the unapologetic Duterte has often cited in defending his take-no-prisoners approach to criminality – is very much around, starting with the weak and compromised legal system.

That environment has also sustained public support for the short cuts, as voter preferences during elections keep showing us.

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Perhaps the sight of Duterte being readied presumably for turnover to the International Criminal Police Organization under a “diffusion” request of the ICC to the Interpol spooked Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.

 Senator Bato made himself scarce yesterday and didn’t join Bong Go at the NAIA and at Villamor in trying to keep Duterte company.  

ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti told “Storycon” on One News last Monday that at this point, three people are certain to face an ICC arrest warrant: Duterte and two of his former PNP chiefs, Dela Rosa and successor Oscar Albayalde.

On the other hand, former senator Antonio Trillanes told Storycon yesterday that while Dela Rosa is considered a co-principal of Duterte in the ICC case, the warrant for Dela Rosa’s arrest could still take months or even up to a year.

Last week, Dela Rosa had told The STAR’s online show “Truth on the Line” that he would take to the Supreme Court any ICC warrant for his arrest. 

There’s a longer list of people who have been under ICC investigation in connection with the thousands of people killed in line with Duterte’s brutal crackdown on drug suspects when he was president and earlier as Davao City mayor.

Even Vice President Sara Duterte has been mentioned, for the years covered by the ICC probe when she was Davao City mayor.

But Trillanes, who has been in touch with ICC representatives in the Philippines, says it’s likely that the VP and those in the longer list would no longer be taken to The Hague. Instead they will be indicted and face trial in the country on charges of violating Republic Act 9851, the 2009 law on “Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.”

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Duterte’s arrest was requested by the ICC to the Interpol under the so-called diffusion scheme.

Someone knowledgeable told me that diffusions are also color-coded, like the Interpol notices. Red diffusions are issued for wanted persons who must be arrested, detained or restricted in movement, with compliance checked by a Notices and Diffusions Task Force.

I was told that a diffusion is not entered into the Interpol database if its nature is political, military, religious or racial. A diffusion request from the ICC to the Interpol is an informal alert seeking the arrest or location of a suspect. It is used when there is urgency, before the issuance of a formal Interpol red notice.

But unlike the red notice, the diffusion is sent directly to specific countries rather than being made publicly available.

As of early evening yesterday, Duterte was refusing to be put on a plane that would fly him to The Hague where the ICC and Interpol are based.

There’s still a long, tortuous road ahead. Still, EJK victims and human rights advocates are cautiously jubilant and hopeful that Duterte will finally be held to account for mass killings.

It would be much better though if the nation didn’t have to rely on a foreign tribunal in rendering justice.