MANILA, May 15 (Reuters) – The Philippine justice minister said on Friday the country will definitely submit to a request from the International Criminal Court to arrest a top senator wanted for alleged crimes against humanity over his role in a bloody “war on drugs”.
The warrant for the arrest of Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the former police chief who oversaw ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody anti-narcotics crackdown, is valid and the Philippines has received a request to serve it, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said.
The ICC unsealed a warrant on Monday for dela Rosa’s arrest, dated November. Dela Rosa, had been taking refuge at the Senate but slipped out before dawn on Thursday in what his wife called an “escape”.
His whereabouts are unknown.
“We will definitely submit to the request of the ICC,” Vida told reporters on Friday.
“We will treat any attempt by Senator Dela Rosa to leave the country as a mockery of justice,” he said, adding that he has already given orders to arrest him if he tied to flee.
Dela Rosa has filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court, arguing the ICC has no jurisdiction after the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute. He denies involvement in illegal killings.
Duterte is currently in ICC detention following his arrest and transfer last year and is set to become first former Asian head of state to go on trial in The Hague. He is accused of crimes against humanity and has denied wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Nestor Corrales and Mikhail Flores; Editing by David Stanway)
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