SOJ Remulla: No plans yet on 'reported' ICC's arrest warrants
The government has no measures in place yet on the possibility that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues another arrest warrant, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said.
“Wala pa. Hindi pa naming pinag-uusapan yan” (There is none yet. We have not talked about it),” said Remulla who reacted to a statement of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
In a recent television interview, Trillanes, who travelled to The Hague in Netherlands, said that the ICC might issue arrest warrants against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go early next year.
Senator Dela Rosa was Duterte's first chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the latter’s illegal drugs war. Senator Go, on the other hand, was Duterte’s longtime aide.
Dela Rosa had earlier said he is ready to face the ICC, while Go denied any involvement in Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.
Last March 11, former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested based on the arrest warrant issued by the ICC. He is now detained at the ICC’s detention facility in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity reportedly committed during his war against illegal drugs.
When asked if he has received information that warrants of arrest will be issued by the ICC, Remulla said: “Until we see an arrest warrant then there’s none.”
The ICC’s arrest orders, like that issued against Duterte, are coursed through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and enforced by the concerned government’s law enforcers.
Several cases involving the arrest of Duterte and his turnover to the ICC in The Hague have been filed before the Philippine Supreme Court and are still pending resolution.