Manila, Philippines – Former presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reiterated that the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Sen. Bato Dela Rosa was supposedly issued a long time ago.
In his social media post, Roque claimed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) have “officially received” it.
Dela Rosa’s legal counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, had previously said that this was “just a rumor”, despite his exchange of messages with Roque.
Roque said that the DOJ and DILG might only be starting to act now to serve the arrest warrant.
Meanwhile in a statement, Philippine National Police (PNP) Acting Chief Melencio Nartatez said they have no information on the senator’s whereabouts and there is no basis to arrest him.
He stated that the senator does not have a warrant, and the DILG and DOJ have also reiterated that they have not yet received it.
In his social media post, former senator Antonio Trillanes also said that aside from Dela Rosa, several other former high-ranking PNP officials involved in the war on drugs will be charged by the ICC.
Retired Col. Royima Garma will supposedly be made a witness, which is why she will allegedly be removed from the case.
It can be recalled that Dela Rosa skipped the Senate on November 11, following information that there was a warrant for his arrest. He served as the PNP chief when the bloody drug campaign was implemented during the time of Duterte.
He also failed to defend the Department of National Defense’s (DND) budget during plenary debates as the finance committee’s vice chair, offering no formal explanation, according to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.