ICC arrest warrant for Bato? Senate mulls scenarios

MANILA, Philippines — What happens if the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues a warrant of arrest to Senator Bato dela Rosa? Senate President Francis Escudero ran through the scenarios. 

At a press briefing on Wednesday, Escudero was asked if he had spoken to Dela Rosa about developments in the ICC complaint against him. Former senator Antonio Trillanes said he expects the ICC to serve a warrant to drug war proponents. 

To recall, Trillanes is one of the petitioners who filed a case against former president Rodrigo Duterte due to the human rights abuses during his administration. Dela Rosa served as the police chief during Duterte’s brutal crackdown on drug dealers who often wound up dead with the police claiming self-defense. 

Escudero declined to comment directly on the case, opting intead to discuss potential scenarios. The Senate president that their lawyers are still studying the procedures of the ICC and how their laws could work alongside local policies. Dela Rosa’s lawyers are also likely studying procedures, Escudero said.

For Escudero, recognizing the ICC ruling would mean that the Philippines concedes that local justice systems are not working, which is one of the prerequisites for the ICC to investigate a case in a country.

“Nakahanda ba ako aminin na hindi nagpa-function ang justice system sa ating bansa? Na kinakailangan silang manghimasok at makialam dito?” Escudero said. (Am I ready to concede that the justice system does not work in our country? That they need to enter and meddle?) 

Additional processes may be required. While the ICC maintains that it was only investigating abuses during the time that the Philippines was a member of the Rome Statutes the international court was built upon, the matter of whether or not a warrant will be enforced now is different, Escudero noted. Additional processes will likely need to be established here. 

“Marahil baka may dagdag pang proseso, yung tinatawag natin na recognition of foreign judgment, na para nga ma-desisyonan nga ng korte kung tama nga ito o legal o hindi. Tapos ang korte natin na lokal ang magi-isyu,” Escudero said. (It is likely that there are additional processes, what we call the