On Tuesday, Philippine Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said he will fight any effort to transfer him to the International Criminal Court for prosecution over alleged crimes against humanity, adding that he would face local courts instead of being brought before an international tribunal. The warning came after the ICC in The Hague unsealed an arrest warrant Monday for dela Rosa, a former national police chief who led the enforcement of President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drugs crackdown.
Dela Rosa said he would contest any attempt to send him to the ICC and argued that he should be tried in the Philippines. In remarks in the Senate, where he reappeared after months of absence, he told reporters that “If I have something to answer for, I will face those in our local courts and not before foreigners,” and he added, “Don’t bring me to The Hague.” He also said “I will avail of all legal processes.”
The ICC warrant, which was originally issued in November, charges dela Rosa with the crime against humanity of murder. Prosecutors allege that he is responsible for “no less than 32 persons” killed between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, in the Philippines.
After the warrant was unsealed, the Senate took dela Rosa into “protective custody” when he returned on Monday. Officials later indicated they were prepared to comply with the ICC process, while responding to questions about whether immunity from arrest could apply while he attended formal sessions or stayed within the Senate.
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said, “We have an obligation that all those who should be held to account should be held responsible,” during a news briefing. She also said dela Rosa cannot invoke a privilege of immunity from arrest while in the Senate because the alleged crimes are serious and punishable by a long prison term.
Dela Rosa has said he did not condone extrajudicial killings while he led the police force. When asked about the crackdown’s death toll, he said his role was to lead the “war on drugs” and that “that war on drugs was not meant to annihilate people.” He added that “When the lives of police officers came under threat, of course they needed to defend themselves.”
Dela Rosa previously headed the police force in the southern city of Davao, where Duterte was a longtime mayor and where dela Rosa built a political profile through what he described as a tough approach to crime. After Duterte won the presidency in 2016, Duterte designated dela Rosa as head of the national police force, and the police carried out the campaign against illegal drugs.
Duterte’s term ended in mid-2022, and he was arrested last year and detained by the ICC in the Netherlands while awaiting trial. The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, but the court has said it retained jurisdiction over crimes committed while the country was still a member.
As authorities moved to manage the warrant’s impact in the Philippines, police deployed nearly 350 law enforcers outside the Senate, prompting concern from dela Rosa and allied lawmakers. Officials said the deployment was intended to keep order and that officers were assigned to maintain security rather than to assist in arresting the senator.