Body
The International Criminal Court unsealed Monday an arrest warrant for Ronald Marapon dela Rosa, a prominent Philippine senator and former national police chief, over allegations tied to killings during the Philippines’ “war on drugs,” a crackdown overseen by former President Rodrigo Duterte. The warrant, originally issued confidentially in November, charges dela Rosa with crimes against humanity of murder and alleges a role in conduct prosecutors say included the extrajudicial killing of suspects.
Prosecutors allege the killings occurred between July 2016 and the end of April 2018. The ICC warrant says judges, after reviewing evidence prosecutors submitted, concluded that dela Rosa “made essential contributions to committing the alleged crime” and listed him as an “indirect co-perpetrator,” in a case that centers on Duterte-era anti-drug policing. The allegations relate to the deadly campaign that police carried out against suspected drug offenders, with human rights groups and some Western governments criticizing the scale and methods used during the campaign.
Duterte, dela Rosa and other police officials have denied authorizing killings of drug suspects. They have said officers shot suspects after the suspects allegedly threatened or moved to harm law enforcement, while Duterte also repeatedly threatened death for drug suspects during his time in office, according to the warrant as summarized by the Associated Press. Dela Rosa later appeared in the Philippines Senate on Monday after being summoned in connection with a new investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings.
As dela Rosa entered the Senate, National Bureau of Investigation officers tried to run after him, but the officials failed to reach him as he dashed into the plenary hall and sought protection from fellow senators. Antonio Trillanes, a former Philippine senator, showed the warrant to reporters in Manila, and the ICC confirmed that the document was authentic.
Dela Rosa once served as the national police chief under Duterte and was the first to enforce the campaign against illegal drugs that left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead, the report said. Philippine police officials have summoned dela Rosa to appear for an investigation into his alleged role in killings during the Duterte-era crackdown, setting up a parallel domestic process alongside the ICC’s request for arrest.
Human Rights Watch’s senior international justice counsel, Maria Elena Vignoli, welcomed the unsealed warrant. She said it was “another blow to the wall of impunity protecting those who allegedly committed atrocities during the Philippines’ murderous ‘drug war.’” Vignoli called for Philippine authorities to swiftly detain dela Rosa and send him to The Hague, where the ICC is based.
The warrant announcement comes while Duterte is already facing ICC charges in the same broader case. Duterte was arrested in March last year and detained in the Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity connected to deadly anti-drug crackdowns ordered while he was in office. No date has been set for Duterte’s trial to start, and the former president has skipped several court hearings due to ill health.