MANILA: Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla on Saturday (Nov 8) said the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa (pic) in connection with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“The ICC has issued a warrant against Senator Bato dela Rosa, a warrant of arrest,” Remulla said in an interview on dzRH radio.
When asked if the information had been confirmed, he replied: “I think so. I would say so. I have it on good authority; someone spoke to me earlier.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, said it is still verifying the report.
“As of this hour, we are currently working to verify this information,” DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez told reporters. “We have also not yet seen or received a copy of said arrest warrant. We shall provide further details as soon as it becomes available.”
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the Ombudsman’s brother, said the government has not received any Interpol red notice against Dela Rosa.
“As per the Centre for Transnational Crimes, they have not received any red notice as of today,” he told the Inquirer.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which oversees the Philippine Centre on Transnational Crime, serves as the country’s coordination point with Interpol. A red notice is a request circulated by Interpol to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or other legal proceedings.
Reporters have reached out to the ICC for confirmation but have yet to receive a response as of this writing.
Dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police during the start of the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign in 2016.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who launched the controversial drug war, is currently detained under ICC jurisdiction in The Hague, Netherlands. He was arrested in March at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and brought to the ICC to face allegations of crimes against humanity.
According to official government data, the drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives. But human rights watchdogs and the ICC prosecutor estimate the death toll at between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019, citing widespread extrajudicial killings. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
