ICC arrest warrant vs. Bato out, Omb. Remulla says; DOJ verifying info

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant of arrest against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla said Saturday.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) however said it is verifying the information.

“I have it in good authority kasi public interest ito. The ICC has issued a warrant against Senator Bato Dela Rosa. Warrant of arrest,” Remulla said in an interview with dzRH's Executive Session program.

Asked for further details, the Ombudsman told GMA News Online that the information was relayed by officer-in-charge Secretary of Justice Eric Vida.

"As of this hour, we are currently working to verify this information. We have also not yet seen or received a copy of said arrest warrant," DOJ spokesperson Atty. Raphael Niccolo "Polo" Martinez told GMA News Online.

"We shall provide further details as soon as it becomes available,” Martinez said.

However, ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah told GMA Integrated News that "ICC news can be found only on ICC official communications channels and press releases, and you can see that we still have only one case currently, the one against Mr. Duterte."

"So, no is a direct answer to your question to confirm if such [an] arrest warrant exists," he added.

In a Facebook post, Atty. Kristina Conti, ICC assistant to counsel, on Saturday said, “As before, we cannot confirm something that the Court has not publicly shared.”

“The warrant of arrest against Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa, in case it has been issued, has not yet been publicly shared and posted,” Conti said.

The lawyer of drug war victims’ kin, nevertheless, said that “we maintain that a warrant against Bato Dela Rosa as Duterte's co-perpetrator of crimes against humanity is certain from what victims know and what the prosecution has presented.”

“The Marcos administration has to enforce his arrest and surrender to the ICC as part of our continuing obligations to the court, also following the recent decision on the jurisdiction challenge of Rodrigo Duterte in his case,” Conti added.

Malacañang said it has not yet received confirmation about the matter.

"No confirmation. Busy sa uwan (Busy with [Typhoon] Uwan)," Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said in a message sent to reporters.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, likewise, said that the ICC might have issued the arrest warrant “but might not have yet coursed the service through the Interpol.”

Meanwhile, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla told reporters that no red notice from ICC has been received yet by the Center for Transnational Crime.

"As of 30 minutes ago, the center for transnational crimes has not received a red notice from the ICC. There is no actionable document yet," DILG Sec. Remulla said in a message to reporters past 11 a.m.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in The Hague also said they "have not received any warrant of arrest or related documents from the ICC, nor has any such document been uploaded in the ICC online portal."

"We note that under the Rome Statute, arrest warrants, if any, can be transmitted directly to law enforcement agencies of relevant countries," the DFA said in a statement. 

'Due process'

The camp of dela Rosa on Saturday said it is yet to get a hand on official information that the ICC has indeed issued an arrest warrant against the senator.

Dela Rosa’s counsel Atty. Israelito Torreon, in a statement, said, “We have been made aware of circulating reports claiming that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa.”

“At this point, we do not have independent confirmation as to whether or not this information is accurate. We therefore urge the public and the media to exercise caution and restraint in sharing or interpreting such reports until verified information is officially released by competent authorities or by the ICC itself,” Torreon said.

Bersamin was asked if Dela Rosa would undergo the same process as former president Rodrigo Duterte, in which the PNP and the Philippine authorities cooperated to act on a notice from the Interpol.

“Not anymore. The Supreme Court has come out with a new rule on extradition requiring a prior resort to a court before the person subject of extradition may be brought out of the country,” the executive secretary said.

Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police when former president Rodrigo Duterte launched his controversial campaign against illegal drugs through “Oplan Tokhang” and “Oplan Double Barrel Reloaded.”

Duterte is currently detained at the Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague in The Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity following his arrest through a warrant issued by the ICC.

The ICC Prosecutor has charged the former president with 49 incidents of murder and attempted murder during his time as mayor of Davao City and as President of the Philippines.

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration's anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say that the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related slays.

“The last public information shared by the court in the Duterte case is that the defense has transmitted its second tranche of evidence, meaning, all parties are still preparing for the resumption of the confirmation of charges hearing. We'll know more as soon as the pending issue of Duterte's fitness is decided, possibly within this month,” Conti said.

“The investigation into the situation in the Philippines, to determine who are most responsible for atrocity crimes, is ongoing,” she added. —VAL/KG/VBL, GMA Integrated News