Philippine lawyers support ICC arrest warrant for fugitive senator

Philippine government lawyers have urged the Supreme Court to reject the bid of fugitive Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity linked to his role in a bloody “war on drugs”, to block his arrest and surrender.

Dela Rosa, ‌the former police chief who oversaw former President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-narcotics crackdown, had asked the Supreme Court to stop authorities from arresting and surrendering him to the International Criminal Court.

He is facing the same charges as Duterte, who is set to become the first former Asian head of state to go on trial in The Hague. Both have denied wrongdoing.

Dela Rosa argued the ICC no longer has jurisdiction after the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal ⁠from the Rome Statute.

But the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) argued the Philippines may enforce the ICC warrant under ‌a domestic law, Republic Act 9851, which allows authorities to surrender suspects accused of grave international crimes to international courts for prosecution.

It said dela Rosa could not demand a separate Philippine court finding ‌that there was sufficient basis to arrest him since the ICC has already issued a warrant, adding ⁠the country “will never become ⁠a sanctuary for impunity.” The OSG said dela Rosa was not entitled to relief because his “actions show that he comes to court with unclean ‌hands.”