ARREST warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against key figures in the bloody anti-drug war of former president Rodrigo Duterte, including against Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, may be issued in the coming weeks, ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti said.
Conti said the ICC recognizes that Duterte did not act alone in the implementation of his drug war, adding that there are officials, such as Dela Rosa, who were also in the campaign.
Dela Rosa served as the first PNP chief during the first two years of the Duterte administration. He was the main implementor of “Oplan Tokhang” and “Oplan Double Barrel,” the Duterte administration’s two-pronged strategy that targeted personalities involved in the narcotics trade.
“Yes, we both see more warrants coming. It’s important because Duterte has to be seen, or Duterte should be seen in the context of the entire operation. It was not just him… was an indirect co-perpetrator along with the others. This would not have happened without all the others,” Conti said in an interview with political analyst Richard Heydarian.
She said the warrant issued by the ICC against Duterte also made this clear when it described him as an “indirect co-perpetrator along with others.”
Conti said that that while it was Duterte who gave the orders, Dela Rosa and other high-ranking police officials and police officers played critical roles in the anti-drug war, making them equally accountable in the crimes against humanity charges that the former president is facing.
“This would not have happened without all the others. The implementation was left to his lackeys, both police officers and civilians, just like what they did in the Davao death squad,” she said.
“So minimum is Bato, there could be others, there will be others. There should be others,” she added.
Conti described the 80-year old former president as the “moral compass” of the anti-drug war, saying he acted more like a “capo” while his subordinates, or “cabal,” executed the policy, including the actual killing of those allegedly involved in illegal drug activities.
Capo is a term used to describe a prisoner who oversaw his fellow prisoners.
Dela Rosa has repeatedly changed his stance on whether he will surrender or not if the ICC issues an arrest order against him.
In his earlier statements, he said he was ready to surrender and go to the Netherlands so he can join Duterte in detention.
He later on said he would seek refuge at the Senate until he exhausts all legal remedies to oppose the arrest warrant.
In his most recent statement, he said he would go into hiding to evade the warrant.
Dela Rosa and Duterte have a pending petition with the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the government’s cooperation with the ICC and the arrest and subsequent surrender of Duterte to the international tribunal last month.
ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah has earlier said the court could pursue more charges against Duterte before his next court appearance.
Abdallah noted that ICC prosecutors initially sought to indict the former president on three charges, namely, murder, torture and rape as crimes against humanity.
But the Pre-Trial Chamber presided by Judge Iula Antoanella Motoc only issued a warrant of arrest against Duterte for 43 murders committed from 2011 to 2019.
The Pre-Trial Chamber has set the next hearing of Duterte’s case on September 23 this year to confirm the charges against him.
Duterte first appeared before the chamber on March 14, three days after he was arrested in Manila and subsequently flown to The Hague.
