It seems the nation has been taken for a contemptuous ride regarding the circumstances surrounding the hustling of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the strength of the tribunal’s arrest warrant.

The opening paragraph of the ICC statement regarding Duterte’s arrest on a crime against humanity charge said it all: he was willingly handed over to the international tribunal.

“Today, 12 March 2025, Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte (‘Mr Duterte’), born on 28 March 1945, was surrendered to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC or ‘the Court’). He was arrested by the authorities of the Republic of the Philippines (‘the Philippines’) by an arrest warrant issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I (‘the Chamber’) for charges of murder as a crime against humanity.”

Based on the Malacañang narrative, the administration has consistently held a non-cooperation policy with the ICC, an intrusive global tribunal that the country withdrew from in 2019.

The claim went that the arrest was carried out through an International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Red Notice that local authorities had to comply with since the country had to cooperate with the global police body of which it is a member.

It was pointed out that it was the ICC that requested the Interpol to put out the Red Notice. The ICC statement on Duterte’s arrest, however, was silent about any request to Interpol.

Moreover, a DAILY TRIBUNE check of the Interpol website detailing the 6,610 individuals wanted worldwide on a Red Notice did not include Duterte.

Thus, the only conclusion is that those who wanted Duterte removed from the political equation, without batting an eye, jumped at the opportunity presented by the ICC arrest warrant. Another revelation in the ICC statement was that the tribunal was unaware of any Interpol assistance.

In the final paragraph of the statement, gratitude was expressed to those who assisted in collaring Duterte: “The ICC Registrar, Mr Osvaldo Zavala Giler, thanked the authorities of the Philippines for their commitment to upholding international accountability mechanisms, and the authorities of the Host State, the Netherlands, for their cooperation and support.”

In the brief public statements directly attributed to the ICC, including the reports on TIME on 11 March 2025, and CNN on 12 March 2025, the ICC did not mention Interpol as the mechanism for executing the arrest.

Even if Interpol issued a notice, which did not happen, the government had the option not to comply. A Red Notice is a request to “law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action,” but it is not an international arrest warrant.

“The individuals are wanted by the requesting member country or international tribunal. Member countries apply their laws in deciding whether to arrest a person,” according to Interpol.

Both the ICC’s arrest warrant and the mysterious claim of an Interpol Red Notice are optional tools, activated only at the discretion of a nation’s government.

The Philippines, no longer a member of the Rome Statute, had no legal obligation to comply with the arrest order.

The police force, upon a higher order, didn’t just comply — it rushed to do so, as if eager to satisfy desires or a longing of those who’ve long salivated over Duterte’s downfall.

Duterte, unlike Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin who both have standing ICC arrest warrants, is easy pickings for the ICC which needs an image restoration.

Selective justice, on a global scale, is on full display with regard to Duterte’s fate.

The ICC, a body that projects itself as a guardian of humanity, conveniently glosses over the sins of powerful nations while pouncing on leaders of weaker states who refuse to toe the line.

The administration’s complicity in the ICC farce smacks of weakness since it’s a slap in the face of every Filipino and the local judicial system. The high-stakes power play was dressed up as morality, and the Philippines just folded to the ICC without a fight.