Conti: ICC arrest warrant should be kept secret

International Criminal Court (ICC) assistant to counsel Atty. Kristina Conti on Wednesday said that the international tribunal has decided that applications for  warrants of arrest should be kept secret.

“Syempre, una diyan ‘yung consideration kung ma-implement ba 'yung warrant o hindi. Syempre maximizing the chances. Kasi kapag in-announce mo— aba’y talaga...,” Conti told Super Radyo dzBB.

(Of course, the first consideration there is whether the warrant can be implemented or not. Naturally, it’s about maximizing the chances. Because if you announce it— well, then really…)

“Actually, ‘yung ICC sabi nila, napagtanto nila na teka dapat nga ang application ng warrant ay ang default, secret. ‘Yun ‘yung— may binago silang kaunti sa kanilang regulation pero sinunod naman rin naman nila ang kanilang practice,” she added.

(Actually, the ICC said they realized that the application for a warrant should by default be secret. That’s the— they made a slight change in their regulation, but they still followed their usual practice.)

She issued the remark when asked what is preventing the ICC from confirming if an arrest warrant has been issued against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

LIVE sa DZBB: Atty. Kristina Conti (@chronikrissys), ICC Assistant to Counsel

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Over the weekend, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the ICC has issued a warrant against the senator.

Though the ICC and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have yet to confirm this, Remulla stood by his remark and said that he has an unofficial copy of the warrant.

For its part, the DOJ has said that the Philippine government will carry out the arrest warrant if the ICC issues it. It said that the government can choose to extradite or surrender Dela Rosa to the tribunal.

Though there is no known case lodged against the senator in the ICC, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV previously said that Dela Rosa and four other former ranking police officials have been tagged as suspects in the ICC probe into the war on drugs.

Dela Rosa served as the chief of the Philippine National Police during the implementation of the drug war under the Duterte administration.

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.

Dela Rosa’s camp previously said that it has yet to get a hand on official information that the ICC has indeed issued a warrant against him.

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa’s counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, said they have been made aware of circulating reports. —AOL, GMA Integrated News