The International Criminal Court (ICC) cannot confirm reports that it has issued a warrant of arrest against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, tribunal spokesperson Dr. Fadi El-Abdallah said Monday.
“No the ICC can’t confirm such news,” El-Abdallah told reporters.
“ICC news can be found only on ICC official communications channels and press releases, where you could see that only one case to date has been opened, against Mr. Duterte,” he added.
He made the pronouncement following a disclosure from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla that the ICC has issued a warrant against the senator.
For their part, Dela Rosa’s camp previously said that it has yet to get a hand on official information that the ICC has indeed issued a warrant against him.
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa’s counsel Atty. Israelito Torreon, said they have been made aware of circulating reports.
The ICC Prosecutor has charged Duterte with 49 incidents of murder and attempted murder during his time as mayor of Davao City and as President of the Philippines, “although the actual scale of victimization during the charged period was significantly greater.”
Though there is no case lodged against the senator, former Senator Antonio Trillanes previously said that Dela Rosa and four other former ranking police officials have been tagged as suspect in the ICC probe into the drug war. — MCG, GMA Integrated News
