Officials give conflicting info on Duterte ICC arrest

Government officials provided conflicting statements during a Senate hearing regarding the arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC) Executive Director Anthony Alcantara admitted that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a diffusion notice, specifically a "Wanted Person Diffusion" or "red diffusion," against Duterte, rather than a Red Notice.

Alcantara confirmed that the Interpol's National Central Bureau (NCB)-Manila received the diffusion notice on March 10 and forwarded it to various law enforcement agencies.

Senator Imee Marcos, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, questioned the basis of the operation, presenting an Interpol letter that indicated a diffusion was used.

Marcos highlighted that a diffusion is distinct from a Red Notice and is not validated by the Interpol secretariat or posted on the Interpol website.

Interpol defines a diffusion as a request for cooperation between member states, while a Red Notice is a formal request for worldwide law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest an individual.

Interpol clarifies that a Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, and member countries must apply their own laws in deciding whether to act on it.