By Lane Afable, News Editor
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Saturday night said “no public arrest warrants” have been issued in relation to the Philippine war on the drug case it is handling.
The statement came following news reports, citing anonymous sources, that the international court has issued a warrant to arrest Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, and that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) had been notified.
“No public arrest warrants have been issued in relation to the situation in the Philippines,” ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet said in a text message to reporters.
She declined to comment when asked to confirm if the ICC prosecution has already filed an application for warrant against Dela Rosa, and whether the statement means a warrant exists but has not been publicly disclosed.
“We cannot speculate on these matters or on any confidential information,” she said.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor earlier named Dela Rosa, along with seven others, as co-perpetrators in the killings that took place during the campaign against illegal drugs in the Philippines.
ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, in a court document dated Feb. 13, said detained former president Rodrigo R. Duterte and the alleged co-perpetrators “shared a common plan or agreement to neutralize alleged criminals in the Philippines,” and those linked with drug use and sale through violent crimes, including murder.
Dela Rosa, who was Duterte’s first Philippine National Police chief, has not appeared at the Senate since November 2025 after reports surfaced that he would be arrested.
On March 7 last year, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issued an arrest warrant against Duterte classified as “secret,” and later reclassified as “public” on March 11.
Duterte was arrested by Philippine authorities under the said warrant on March 11, and was surrendered to the ICC on March 12.
