Bato reveals receiving interview requests related to ICC drug war probe

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Thursday revealed that he has received interview requests in connection with the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The former national police chief who led the Duterte administration's illegal drug campaign disclosed this when asked if the ICC Office of the Prosecutor has reached out to him to request for an interview.

"May nag-contact sa opisina pero in-ignore man namin dahil alam man namin na wala silang jurisdiction sa atin...Hindi namin pinatulan baka mamaya mga gago gago lang 'yun na mga tao na sumasakay sa issue, nag-gawa ng pangalan na kunwari European daw sila na gusto mag-interview sa akin," Dela Rosa said at a press conference after he filed his certificate of candidacy for the Senate in the 2025 midterm polls.

"Sabay sabay eh. Nu'ng pagsabi ni [former Senator Antonio] Trillanes ng issue na 'yan, meron nagtawag tawag sa amin, ang sabi ko, 'Wag niyo intertainin 'yan dahil baka mga siraulo lang 'yan na sumasakay sa issue,'"  he shared.

(There were some people who reached out to my office but we ignored them because we know that ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines. We didn't entertain them because we don't know if they are just pretending to be Europeans who wanted an interview with me. There was a surge of requests after Trillanes brought up that issue, but I told my office staff not to entertain them.)

Earlier, Trillanes said that Dela Rosa and four other former ranking officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been tagged as suspects in the ICC investigation.

He posted a supposed redacted copy of an order by the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) on X (formerly Twitter).

Trillanes also shared that the ICC has requested the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a blue notice against persons of interest in its investigation on the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

Dela Rosa earlier said that the ICC should already proceed if they seek to interview persons of interest in its investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug individuals were killed during anti-drug police operations. Human rights organizations, however, say that the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related killings.

The Philippines, under Duterte, withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, in 2019 after the tribunal began a probe into his administration's drug war.

In January 2023, the ICC authorized the reopening of the inquiry after it was suspended in November 2021.

The ICC Appeals Chamber in July 2023 also denied the government’s plea against the resumption of the inquiry, prompting numerous government officials to speak against continued engagement with the ICC.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously said that the government would not serve any arrest warrant from the ICC against Duterte. He also said he does not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC in the Philippines and considers the tribunal as a threat to the country's sovereignty. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News