Malacañang said it has not received any official communication from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on whether it had issued arrest warrants for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and other alleged co-perpetrators of former President Rodrigo Duterte in the controversial war on drugs.
“Sa ngayon, wala pa po tayong natatanggap na anumang communication kung mayroon na pong warrant of arrest para sa mga co-perpetrators ni dating Pangulong Duterte,” said Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro during a press briefing.
The remark comes after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told Kyodo News that dela Rosa could face arrest once the ICC releases a warrant.
In March, it was reported that nine individuals were tagged as co-perpetrators of Duterte based on documents from the ICC website, which included applications for arrest warrants. Several were named due to their roles in implementing the drug campaign during the former president’s term.
Dela Rosa was prominently mentioned in the documents. As the police chief of Davao City, he spearheaded “Oplan Tokhang,” the operation that served as the blueprint for the national anti-drug campaign. He later became chief of the Philippine National Police and oversaw the program’s rollout nationwide under Duterte.
The senator has previously said he considers himself the second-most implicated person in the case, after Duterte. He also admitted that he had considered going into hiding should the ICC issue an arrest warrant against him.
Meanwhile, current Philippine National Police chief General Nicolas Torre III confirmed that authorities are preparing contingency measures should such an order be released.
Former President Duterte was arrested in the Philippines on March 11 based on an ICC-issued warrant of arrest related to charges of crimes against humanity. He is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands.
As of this writing, the ICC has not made any new announcements regarding the issuance of additional warrants connected to Duterte’s co-accused.