MANILA, Philippines — An accredited assistant to counsel before the International Criminal Court (ICC) helping victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign said on Saturday that while the Court has not yet publicly released any warrant of arrest against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the victims believe such an order was “certain” based on the prosecution’s evidence and ongoing proceedings.
Kristina Conti clarified, however, that there has been no confirmation from The Hague so “as before, we cannot confirm something that the Court has not publicly shared and posted. “
She added, however, that from the perspective of the victims and based on the prosecution’s presentations, Dela Rosa—who served as the Philippine National Police chief and chief architect of Duterte’s war on drugs—faced inevitable accountability before the ICC.
“But we maintain that a warrant against Bato Dela Rosa as Duterte’s co-perpetrator of crimes against humanity is certain from what victims know and what the prosecution has presented,” Conti said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Conti urged the Marcos administration to abide by the Philippines’ obligations under international law by enforcing any potential ICC warrant against Dela Rosa.
“The Marcos administration has to enforce his arrest and surrender to the ICC as part of our continuing obligations to the Court, also following the recent decision on the jurisdiction challenge of Rodrigo Duterte in his case,” she said.
The ICC recently ruled against Duterte’s challenge questioning the Court’s jurisdiction, affirming that it retains authority to prosecute alleged crimes committed while the Philippines was still a state party to the Rome Statute prior to its withdrawal in 2019.
Conti said the last public update from the ICC indicated that Duterte’s defense team had transmitted its second tranche of evidence, signaling that preparations for the resumption of the confirmation of charges hearing are underway.
“The last public information shared by the Court in the Duterte case is that the defense has transmitted its second tranche of evidence, meaning, all parties are still preparing for the resumption of the confirmation of charges hearing. We’ll know more as soon as the pending issue of Duterte’s fitness is decided, possibly within this month,” she said.
Conti added that the ICC’s broader investigation into the “situation in the Philippines” continued to identify individuals most responsible for alleged atrocity crimes under Duterte’s drug war.
“The investigation into the situation in the Philippines, to determine who are most responsible for atrocity crimes, is ongoing,” she said.
Dela Rosa, who led the PNP from 2016 to 2018, was a key implementer of Duterte’s nationwide anti-drug campaign that has been linked to thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings. The ICC has already issued a public arrest warrant against Duterte, who is detained in The Hague pending the continuation of proceedings.
Meanwhile, Philippine authorities—including the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior and Local Government—have said they have not yet received any formal communication or red notice confirming an ICC warrant against Dela Rosa.