Contrary to earlier reports, former President Rodrigo Duterte was surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged crimes against humanity on the basis of a 'diffusion notice' and not a red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

This was revealed during Thursday’s Senate Committee on Foreign Relations investigation into the arrest of the former chief executive, which was presided over by its chair, Senator Imee Marcos.

Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC) Executive Director Anthony Alcantara admitted that Interpol issued a diffusion notice and not a red notice on the day Duterte was arrested, which was received by the National Central Bureau (NCB).

“It was a diffusion—a red diffusion. More technically, it is a Wanted Person Diffusion,” Alcantara said when Senator Marcos clarified what kind of notice was released by Interpol.

According to Alcantara, the NCB-Manila received the diffusion notice at 3 o’clock in the morning on March 10, which was forwarded to law enforcement agencies such as the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Immigration, and Department of Justice.

On its website, Interpol defined “diffusion” as a mechanism in which member countries can request cooperation from each other. Meanwhile, “red diffusions” are circulated to “arrest, detain, or restrict the movement of a convicted or accused person—these are checked for compliance by the Notices and Diffusions Task Force.”

On the other hand, a red notice is a “request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”

“A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant,” the ICC said. “The individuals are wanted by the requesting member country or international tribunal. Member countries apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person.”

‘Prior consultation’

Reading the communication from INTERPOL before the panel, which the NCB said it received on March 11, Senator Marcos sought clarification on whether the issuance was merely a formal transmittal.

“The request for [arrest] was made with prior consultation with the Philippine government. So, it is not true that you only learned about it on March 11 at 3 AM… This means, first, the government had already discussed it with them, and second, there was already an agreement,” she said.

“So, this is just a formal transmittal—it wasn’t sudden. That’s why as early as March 10, 7,000 police officers had already been mobilized,” she added.

Responding to the presidential sister’s query, Alcantara said the ICC should be the one to answer the question, as it was the one that applied for the issuance of a diffusion notice from Interpol, which made the lawmaker visibly irked.

“So, Interpol is lying? Because Interpol said the diffusion was released after a consultation with the government. They also added that they have yet to make a compliance review. They have yet to investigate and prove this diffusion?” she said.

Defending the government’s arrest, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that Interpol was just “following the format” for its diffusion notices, adding that “not everything written was true, as it avoids committing mistakes.”

“They surely have a lot of standard wording in their form letter,” he said. “For example, when they mentioned ‘after coordinating with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines,’ my question is—who exactly did they speak with? Because it certainly wasn’t us.”

Still not convinced, Senator Marcos asked, “Are you saying that this is just an alibi? This is not true? How can we trust Interpol?”

Remulla reaffirmed that his department did not communicate with the ICC, which was also echoed by National Security Council Director General Eduardo Año.

“I was not aware of any coordination. I only learned of this diffusion and warrant of arrest on March 11,” Año said.

The Interpol document states: “Please arrest the subject of this diffusion. This diffusion is transmitted after prior consultations with the Government of the Philippines, who have agreed to comply with this request for arrest.”

“This diffusion relates to the International Warrant of arrest (referenced in this Diffusion) which has also been formally transmitted to the Government of the Philippines,” it added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. claimed that his administration did not communicate with the ICC in Duterte’s arrest, noting that it acted on an arrest warrant from Interpol.

“Interpol asked for help and we obliged because we have commitments to Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don't do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” Marcos Jr. said in a late-night briefing shortly after Duterte was flown to the Netherlands.

Duterte is suspected of murder qualified as a crime against humanity, allegedly committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019.

Based on government data, at least 7,000 people were killed under Duterte's drug war. However, both local and international human rights groups disagreed with the figures, stressing that the actual number of victims could be as high as 30,000.