“It happened before and that’s what will happen now,” Castro said at a press briefing when asked if the Philippines would cooperate with the Interpol in case the ICC would order the arrest of the co-perpetrators. The Rome Statute, the treaty that formed the ICC, was ratified by the Philippines in 2011. Seven years later, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the statute after the ICC announced a plan to probe his drug crackdown. According to Castro, the Philippines has a law that allows the government to surrender defendants to the ICC. “The only goal of former President Duterte is to cleanse our nation and fight those who are spreading evil, specially drugs.

Source: Philippine Star February 17, 2026 00:49 UTC