A close ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will not surrender to the International Criminal Court. The Hague-based ICC unsealed an arrest warrant accusing Senator Ronald Dela Rosa of the crime against humanity of murder during the former administration’s “war on drugs.”
Dela Rosa on Tuesday called on the current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to send him to the global tribunal to face the charges.
Dela Rosa served as Duterte’s national police chief and is believed to have helped enforce his administration’s deadly crackdown on illicit drugs. The former president has been detained by ICC in the Netherlands since last year, awaiting trial.
Dela Rosa fled from investigators at the Senate on Monday when they reportedly tried to serve the ICC’s warrant.
The ICC alleges Dela Rosa was involved in at least 32 murders from 2016 to 2018. It issued the sealed warrant last November.
Dela Rosa has remained inside the building under the Senate’s protective custody.
A presidential press officer said Tuesday that Marcos emphasized the importance of law enforcement agencies consistently adhering to due process and legal procedures.
She said senators are not arrested while attending a session at the Senate, but that this privilege does not apply when the alleged crime has a penalty over six years.