Palace: No confirmation yet on ICC arrest warrant vs Dela Rosa
Published Nov 8, 2025 12:02 pm
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Updated Nov 8, 2025 06:09 pm
Malacañang said it has yet to confirm whether the International Criminal Court (ICC) has indeed issued a warrant for the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in relation to the deaths linked to the bloody drug war of the previous administration.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Saturday morning, Nov. 8, that the ICC had already issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.
In a message to reporters, Castro said the Palace is busy preparing for Typhoon Uwan, which is set to hit Luzon this weekend.
“No confirmation. Busy sa ‘Uwan,’” she said.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin also confirmed to Malacañang reporters that he has yet to receive any official confirmation regarding a supposed ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.
“I have no independent verification of this yet. Interpol has not issued any kind of notice, per the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime,” he said.
“Remember that ICC might have issued, but might not have yet coursed the service through Interpol,” he added.
However, Bersamin said the government will not follow the same process when former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in March.
“Not anymore. The Supreme Court has since come out with a new rule on extradition requiring a prior resort to a court before the person subject to extradition may be brought out of the country,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in The Hague said they have not received any warrant of arrest or related documents from the ICC, nor has any such document been uploaded in the ICC online portal.
“We note that under the Rome Statute, arrest warrants, if any, can be transmitted directly to law enforcement agencies of relevant countries,” the DFA said.
In March, Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police and Interpol in Operation Pursuit under an ICC warrant charging him with crimes against humanity related to his drug war.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Vice President said Vice President Sara Duterte has been informed of this development.
Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) when Oplan Tokhang was implemented.