Metro Manila, Philippines – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has supposedly issued an arrest warrant against Sen. Bato dela Rosa, the chief implementer of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, but the agencies tasked to enforce it could not confirm or deny its existence.
Since 2022, Dela Rosa has described himself as the “number two accused” in the crimes against humanity case of former President Rodrigo Duterte tied to the bloody war on drugs.
ICC prosecutors state that Duterte, now detained in a facility at The Hague, Netherlands, has nine co-perpetrators, including former Philippine National Police (PNP) members and high-ranking government officials, but names were redacted in court documents.
Ombudsman Boying Remulla revealed the development in a radio interview on Saturday, Nov. 8, saying he “[has] it on good authority,” when asked if the information has been confirmed.
In a message to reporters, Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez said the Department of Justice is “currently working to verify” the information.”
“We have also not yet seen or received a copy of said arrest warrant. We shall provide further details as soon as [they become] available,” Martinez said.
Dela Rosa’s camp also said it does not have independent confirmation on the arrest warrant.
“If proven true, we trust that the Philippine Government will act in accordance with the rule of law, and that any such action shall first pass through the proper local judicial confirmation process consistent with our Constitution, due process, and the sovereign rights of the Republic of the Philippines,” lawyer Israelito Torreon said in a statement.
No Interpol red notice
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla also said that as of 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, the Center for Transnational Crimes has not received any Interpol red notice against Dela Rosa.
“At present, there is no actionable document for the Department to respond to,” the DILG chief said.
An Interpol red notice is a “request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”
Asked for a response, Executive Secretary Bersamin Lucas said the ICC might have issued an arrest warrant “but might not have yet coursed the service thru the Interpol.”
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which created the ICC, in 2019, but the country remains an Interpol member.
Unlike Duterte’s arrest
The news of an ICC arrest warrant for Dela Rosa came nearly eight months after Duterte was arrested via an ICC warrant coursed through Interpol.
Bersamin noted it will not be the same process of enforcement if an Interpol notice were to emerge for Dela Rosa.
“The SC (Supreme Court) has since 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.
The Supreme Court approved the new rules in April, a month after Duterte’ s arrest, but they were publicized in late October. The high court said the rules will take effect on Nov. 10.
Duterte’s children have challenged the arrest of their father with the Supreme Court.
In September, ICC deputy prosecutors charged Duterte with three counts of murder for alleged extrajudicial killings that occurred during his time as Davao City mayor and Philippine president.
They said Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a “common plan to neutralize” alleged criminals seen to be associated with drug use, sale, or production through violent crimes including murder.
Dela Rosa had said he was ready to face an ICC arrest warrant.
Duterte handpicked Dela Rosa, a former Davao City police chief, to become the head of the PNP in 2016.
Dela Rosa was elected senator in 2019 and secured a reelection in 2025.
