THE International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday declined to comment on reports that an arrest warrant has been issued against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa over his alleged role in thousands of deaths linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Asked about the reported warrant, the ICC said it does not respond to unverified claims. “We do not comment on such speculation,” the court said in a statement, adding that all official court records are publicly available on the ICC’s website.
The ICC’s response came after former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Harry Roque claimed that an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa had already been released. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla also made a similar assertion.
Following these claims, Dela Rosa has remained out of public view and has reportedly skipped Senate budget deliberations.
Dela Rosa previously served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under former president Rodrigo Duterte when “Oplan Tokhang,” the flagship anti-drug campaign of the previous administration, was first rolled out.
He is widely believed to have played a key role in shaping the drug war policy, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of mostly poor Filipinos in urban communities.
Duterte himself was arrested in March and transferred to The Hague, Netherlands, to face charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the anti-drug campaign.
He last appeared publicly on March 14, when he attended a hearing before Pre-Trial Chamber I via video link to formally hear the charges against him.