ICC issues arrest warrant for ally of Philippine ex-President Duterte over drug war, ombudsman says

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MANILA (Reuters) -The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who oversaw then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, the nation’s ombudsman said on Saturday, although the ICC denied the assertion.

Duterte, in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested and taken to The Hague in March on a warrant linking him to murders committed during his war on drugs, in which thousands of alleged narcotics peddlers and users were killed.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla told Reuters in a text message that the information about Dela Rosa’s warrant had been relayed to him by the officer-in-charge of the Department of Justice.

Asked for comment, DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said the ministry was still verifying the information.

“We have not yet received a copy of said arrest warrant. We shall provide further details as soon as it becomes available,” Martinez said in a text message. 

ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah, when asked whether there was an arrest warrant, said: “No. ICC news can only be found on ICC official communications channels and press releases.”

The office of Dela Rosa, a police chief under Duterte, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He and Duterte, who is in detention at The Hague, have petitioned the Philippine Supreme Court to compel the government to stop cooperating with the ICC.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s office has yet to independently verify the information about Dela Rosa’s warrant, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin told reporters.

A document containing the charges prosecutors want to bring against Duterte mentioned Dela Rosa, including statements he made as police chief.

Dela Rosa was quoted in a Senate photo release in April as saying he received a communication from the ICC “regarding the extra-judicial killings of suspected drug dependents and other personalities, which constitute crimes against humanity.”

Duterte and his lawyers maintain his arrest was unlawful. Last month, Duterte appealed the ICC’s decision to continue its case against him and sought his release.

Ombudsman Remulla said the extradition rules approved by the Supreme Court will be applied in the case of Dela Rosa.

(Reporting by Karen Lema in Manila; Additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by William Mallard)