By Lane Afable, News Editor
Details on the transfer of custody of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa cannot be revealed once he is arrested, an official of the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
“The procedure to be followed pertains to operational matters that cannot be publicly disclosed so as not to defeat the ultimate objective to bring him to the ICC (International Criminal Court) and exact justice,” DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said in a message to reporters.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) earlier said Dela Rosa, who served as PNP chief under former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte, will be brought to the DOJ once arrested.
Dela Rosa faces an ICC arrest warrant for his alleged role as a co-perpetrator in the crime against humanity during Duterte’s deadly campaign against illegal drugs. Duterte is currently detained in The Hague.
The lawmaker’s lawyers insisted that the ICC’s arrest warrant issued against Dela Rosa in November last year must first undergo scrutiny by a local court before it is implemented.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday junked Dela Rosa’s plea for a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the ICC’s arrest warrant, thus a manhunt for his arrest was launched.
The Philippine National Police said that it already sent tracker teams nationwide to hunt for the immediate arrest of fugitive Dela Rosa.
It is said that the DOJ will turnover Dela Rosa to ICC once arrested.
