MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court said it has not received any information regarding a potential warrant of arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for former President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials.
This has been confirmed by Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez in a message to Philstar.com on Sunday.
“We don’t have any information on that matter as we are no longer part of the ICC and thus, not bound by any of its processes,” Vasquez said.
In an interview with political analyst Richard Heydarian on Tuesday evening, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said that the international tribunal might issue a warrant of arrest against the former president and other individuals next month.
“I think the day of reckoning is coming closer, because what I’m hearing is that a warrant of arrest will be issued by the ICC sometime in September,” Carpio said in a vlog interview with Heydarian.
In response to these reports, Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who previously served as the Philippine National Police Chief and was instrumental in the former administration’s drug war, said he would seek assistance from the Supreme Court to prevent any action by the Marcos administration to enforce such an arrest order.
“The Supreme Court would only act on it once a warrant of arrest is issued. The ICC is beyond our jurisdiction and control, so we have to wait if they will indeed issue a warrant,” Dela Rosa said, according to a report by The STAR.
On July 28, former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV disclosed an ICC prosecutor’s document listing names of former Philippine National Police officials “under suspicion” for allegedly ordering the killings of drug suspects and users from 2011 to 2019. Dela Rosa was among those mentioned.
Last week, Dela Rosa also proposed a law aimed at blocking government cooperation with the international tribunal.
Despite the Philippines no longer being a member of the ICC, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the country is still committed to Interpol.
He also previously said that the Philippine government will not block Interpol from doing its job once the international tribunal orders the arrest of individuals.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra echoed the sentiment, expressing concerns about non-governmental interference in the ICC prosecutor’s investigation into the alleged crimes. — with reports from the Star/Daphne Galvez
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