Nicolas Kaufman, the lawyer of former President Rodrigo Duterte in his ongoing crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), dismissed as “false” the reports claiming that the international tribunal has issued an arrest warrant against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
The ICC has charged Duterte with crimes against humanity in connection with the alleged thousands of killings during his administration’s “war on drugs.”
Arrested in March 2025 on an ICC warrant, Duterte was transferred from Manila to The Hague under heavy police security after a brief standoff. He remains in ICC custody after the court denied his petition for interim release.
Kaufman described the latest rumors about a separate warrant for Dela Rosa — Duterte’s former police chief and key enforcer of the anti-drug campaign — as “a figment of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla’s fertile imagination.”
“It goes against all common sense and prosecutorial logic for the ICC to issue further warrants in the context of the Philippines investigation until the issue of its ability to exercise jurisdiction over the so-called war on drugs has been finally resolved on appeal,” Kaufman said.
Remulla earlier claimed on a radio program that he had it “on good authority” that the ICC had issued a warrant of arrest for Dela Rosa, who served as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief when the “tokhang” operations were expanded nationwide.
Pressed on whether the information was confirmed, he said, “I think so. I would say so.”
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, however, indicated on Saturday that even if a warrant existed, Dela Rosa’s arrest would not happen “anytime soon.”
He said the government has adopted new Supreme Court–approved extradition rules requiring a prior court process before any person may be surrendered to a foreign or international tribunal.
“It was upon an Interpol request that Philippine authorities arrested and surrendered Duterte to the ICC,” Bersamin said, referring to the March transfer. “But the same process will not automatically apply under the new rules.”
Not on Senate’s turf
Senate President Vicente Sotto III had said the Senate would not allow Dela Rosa’s arrest within its premises, but that outside of the Senate, it would not interfere with any police action against him.
Duterte’s camp has maintained that his arrest by the PNP, purportedly in compliance with the Interpol arrest warrant, violated the country’s extradition requirement because it did not pass through a court process.
Bersamin clarified that if the ICC had indeed transmitted a warrant, it had yet to reach Philippine authorities through Interpol.
The Department of Justice and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, which handles Interpol coordination, both confirmed that they have not received any red notice for Dela Rosa.
DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said the department “is working to verify” the reported warrant.
Lawyer Kristina Conti, who represents several drug war victims, told local media that “an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa is certain from what victims know and what the prosecution has presented.”
She cited Dela Rosa’s central role in implementing “Project Double Barrel” and “Oplan Tokhang,” police operations widely associated with the campaign’s extrajudicial killings.
The ICC’s October 2025 decision rejecting Duterte’s jurisdictional challenge ensures that the case against him will move forward.
The court ruled that because the ICC’s preliminary examination began before the Philippines formally withdrew from the Rome Statute, the tribunal retains jurisdiction over acts committed during that period.
The claim of a “Bato” warrant emerged amid deepening political divisions at home.
The Marcos administration has defended its decision to comply with the ICC process in Duterte’s case, citing Interpol’s transmittal and international obligations.
Vice President Sara Duterte, meanwhile, has repeatedly accused the government of “collusion” with the ICC and has rallied supporters against what she calls a “foreign intrusion” into Philippine sovereignty.