Philippines asks top court to allow ICC drug war arrest of senator

The Philippine government has asked the country’s Supreme Court to permit the arrest of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa to stand trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC unsealed an arrest warrant last week against Dela Rosa, accusing him, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and other ‘co-perpetrators’ of the ‘crime against humanity of murder’ linked to the drug war. Dela Rosa sought refuge in the Senate last week while challenging the arrest attempt, but the government’s chief lawyer, Solicitor-General Darlene Berberabe, argued in a May 16 filing that he had ‘placed himself outside the protection of the law.’ The government stated that until Dela Rosa submits to authorities, he should be treated as a fugitive and denied court relief. His whereabouts remain unknown after he left the Senate building on Thursday. The ICC prosecutor began investigating the Philippine drug crackdown in 2018, a campaign launched by Duterte after his 2016 election that resulted in thousands of deaths, many of them drug users or low-level dealers, according to human rights monitors. Duterte was arrested in March 2023, flown to the Netherlands, and is now detained in The Hague awaiting trial. Dela Rosa served as national police chief from 2016 to 2018 before being elected to the Senate in 2019 and retaining his seat in last year’s midterm elections. He has argued that the ICC warrant is invalid because the Philippines withdrew from the tribunal’s treaty in 2019. However, Berberabe countered that withdrawal does not exempt the country from cooperating in ongoing ICC proceedings. The justice department clarified that the ICC warrant would only be executed once the Supreme Court rules on Dela Rosa’s petition, unless he attempts to flee abroad, in which case he would be detained immediately. The court has not yet commented on the request.