ICC unseals arrest warrant for a prominent Philippine senator over drug war killings under Duterte

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Dela Rosa appeared unexpectedly in the Philippines Senate on Monday after being summoned as part of a new investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings. National Bureau of Investigation officers tried to run after dela Rosa as he entered the Senate, but failed to reach him as he dashed into the plenary hall and sought the protection of fellow senators.

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Former Philippines Senator Antonio Trillanes showed the warrant to the media in Manila on Monday, and the ICC confirmed its authenticity.

Dela Rosa once served as the national police chief under Duterte, and was the first to enforce the bloody campaign against illegal drugs that left thousands of mostly petty suspects dead. Philippine police officials have summoned dela Rosa to appear before them for an investigation into his role in the Duterte-era killings.

Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch, welcomed the warrant, calling it “another blow to the wall of impunity protecting those who allegedly committed atrocities during the Philippines’ murderous ‘drug war.’”

She called on Philippine authorities to swiftly detain dela Rosa and send him to the court in The Hague.

Duterte was arrested in March last year and detained in the Netherlands on charges of crimes against humanity. The charges are also linked to deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he ordered while he was in office. He denies the charges, but judges have ruled that there is enough evidence to warrant his standing trial. No date has been set for the case to start and Duterte has skipped several court hearings due to ill health.

The thousands of killings of mostly impoverished drug suspects took place when Duterte was mayor of the southern city of Davao and after he became president in 2016. The killings during police raids alarmed human rights groups and Western governments, led by the United States.

Mike Corder, The Associated Press