Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla insisted he had seen the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in connection with his alleged role in the bloody drug war during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. 

Remulla said in an interview that a liaison officer from the ICC showed him the entire document containing the ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa, but he did not divulge specifics, such as the exact date.

Remulla said this corroborated a similar document his former colleagues in the Department of Justice had shown him when he was DoJ secretary before his appointment as Ombudsman in October. 

“Saturday morning, about a month ago, my colleagues from the DoJ came to my house. We talked about it [and] I asked, ‘Where is the warrant?’ Then they showed me a page,” he said in Filipino. 

Remulla announced the warrant on his radio program on 8 November.

 Despite having limited information, Remulla pointed out that he felt the need to make it public, claiming it was more than just a “scoop” but an “accountability issue” that the public deserved to learn about.