Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday stood firm that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in connection with the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
“Confirmed, the (copy of the) warrant is on my cell phone, but that is not yet an official copy. That has to go through the proper channels to be implemented,” Remulla said.
“I said that as me being a journalist on my Saturday (radio) program because that’s my scoop. If you ask me, there is (a warrant),” he added.
He noted that the absence of confirmation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the ICC does not mean he was wrong. “They have no confirmation yet. I was ahead of them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the DOJ maintained that it has not received any official document from the ICC.
“We are not closing the door on extradition or surrender per se, but until now we have not seen nor received a copy of this ICC warrant of arrest,” Chief State Counsel Dennis Arvin L. Chan said in a press briefing.
“The DOJ just wants to explain that there are two options available to the State under R.A. No. 9851—extradition or surrender,” he added.
Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III earlier said the Senate would not allow the arrest of a sitting senator within its premises.
The supposed warrant is linked to the ICC’s probe of the Duterte administration’s drug war, where Dela Rosa served as Philippine National Police chief.
Earlier, senior high school teacher Barry Tayam filed a motion before the Supreme Court (SC) asking it not to allow Dela Rosa to use the Senate as a “safe sanctuary or temporary asylum” if the ICC orders his arrest.
“In our Constitution, only those charged with offenses punishable by six years and below are exempted from arrest. Crimes under R.A. No. 9851 can carry up to 30 years in prison, which exceeds that exemption,” Tayam said.
He filed the motion despite the DOJ’s statement that no ICC warrant has been issued. Tayam had previously filed a similar petition in March, which was denied for lack of justiciable controversy after Duterte’s surrender to The Hague.
ICC-accredited assistant to counsel Kristina Conti said the SC would need to assess justiciability before acting on the motion.
She also noted that under the ICC’s amended regulations, all warrants are now filed “under seal” or “secret” until a suspect is brought before the court.
“This means that whether a warrant has been issued or is still to be issued, it is not intended to be made public until an arrest is made,” Conti explained.
