Malacañang on Wednesday said it has not received any confirmation of an alleged International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, despite public claims from former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque that such a warrant has already been released.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said there has been no official communication to the Philippine government. She noted that even the ICC has not confirmed issuing a warrant.
“As of now, there is no confirmation that any notice regarding an existing warrant of arrest has been received. From what we know, even the ICC could not confirm the issuance of the said warrant,” Castro said at a Palace briefing.
Reports of an ICC warrant resurfaced last month after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla said that an arrest order against dela Rosa had been issued in connection with the court’s probe into killings linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war.
The Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government both said they have not received any official document to verify the claim.
ICC officials have also declined to confirm it, saying only publicly released documents should be considered authoritative.
The controversy has intensified amid dela Rosa’s noticeable absence from Senate sessions and public events.
The Philippine National Police has said it does not know his current whereabouts but stressed that it has no basis to act in the absence of a confirmed warrant.
Castro was also asked to comment on Sen. Robin Padilla’s public advice to dela Rosa not to surrender to a “foreign power.” She described such remarks as undermining the rule of law.
“Messages like that show people who do not want to follow the law,” she said. “If there is a valid warrant of arrest, we all know what needs to be done. It is never good advice to tell someone to hide and let the police look for them. The better advice is to follow the law,” Castro added.
The ICC is investigating alleged crimes against humanity stemming from anti-drug operations conducted between 2016 and 2019, during which dela Rosa served as chief of the PNP, which enforced the so-called ‘Oplan Tokhang.’
Under ICC procedures, warrants may be issued under seal, which could explain why Philippine authorities have yet to receive any notification. However, without official transmission, local law enforcement cannot move to arrest any individual named in such an order.
