Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s lawyer in his crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) dismissed Sunday the alleged warrant of arrest supposedly issued for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
In a statement, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman described the reported arrest warrant as “a figment of Ombudsman Remulla’s fertile imagination.”
Kaufman was referring to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, who said in a radio program on Saturday that he received information that the ICC had already issued a warrant of arrest against dela Rosa, who served as national police chief during the early years of Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.
“It goes against all common sense and prosecutorial logic for the ICC to issue further warrants in the context of the Philippines investigation until the issue of its ability to exercise jurisdiction over the so-called war on drugs has been finally resolved on appeal,” Kaufman said.
The ICC has rejected Duterte’s challenge to its jurisdiction, saying in October that the preliminary examination into the situation in the Philippines began “prior to both the Philippines depositing its written notification of withdrawal from the Statute and the date on which that withdrawal became effective.” Duterte’s legal team has appealed the decision.
Polo Martinez, spokesperson for the Department of Justice, said Saturday that the agency was “working to verify” information on the supposed warrant.
Dela Rosa’s camp has urged the public to exercise caution regarding reports of the alleged arrest warrant against the former police chief.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said arrest warrants issued by the ICC may be sent directly to law enforcement agencies.
The statement came after the DFA was asked if it was aware of the reported ICC warrant of arrest against Senator dela Rosa.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in The Hague have not received any warrant of arrest or related documents from the ICC, nor has any such document been uploaded to the ICC online portal,” DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said.
“We note that under the Rome Statute, arrest warrants, if any, can be transmitted directly to law enforcement agencies of relevant countries.”
The Philippines is no longer a state party to the Rome Statute after it officially withdrew on March 17, 2019. However, the ICC maintains that it has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed during the period when the Philippines was a state party from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.
