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, according to the nation’s ombudsman, although the ICC denied the assertion.
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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.
“The ICC has issued a warrant against Senator Dela Rosa,” Philippine Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla told DZRH radio station on Saturday. “This is an extraditable offence.”
The ombudsman said in a text response on Saturday that the information about Dela Rosa’s warrant had been relayed to him by the officer in charge of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Remulla, who served as justice secretary before becoming ombudsman in October, added that the ICC should formally request extradition.
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Asked for comment, DOJ spokesman 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.