"The Philippines has pledged to cooperate with a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to detain a prominent politician who evaded arrest earlier this week as he fled the Senate building despite efforts by the army to arrest him and reports of gunfire. Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Friday that Manila had received the court's arrest warrant for Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa, the country's former national police chief, and considers it valid."
"The ICC unsealed the warrant against dela Rosa, 64, on Monday, on charges of crimes against humanity. The former police chief was instrumental in leading former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, in which thousands of people were targeted in extrajudicial killings. We will definitely submit to the request of the ICC, Vida told reporters, noting that authorities are waiting for the Philippine Supreme Court to resolve the senator's petition against its legality."
"News of the ICC's impending warrant in November had seen dela Rosa disappear from public life. However, he emerged on Monday, when he intended to cast the deciding vote in a leadership contest that would have handed power to a Duterte ally. Finding law enforcement agents waiting for him, the former police chief who has denied any involvement in the killings, which took place in 2016 2019, fortified himself in the Senate building."
"Two days later, the Senate was shaken by more than a dozen gunshots as armed soldiers charged up the stairs of the legislative building to try to arrest him. It was not clear who fired the shots, but by Thursday, the Senate president confirmed that dela Rosa was no longer in the building. With the senator's whereabouts unknown, Vida warned that any efforts to help dela Rosa leave the country would be treated as a mockery of justice."
The Philippines received an ICC arrest warrant for Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa, a former national police chief, and considers it valid. The ICC unsealed the warrant after dela Rosa evaded arrest earlier in the week by fleeing the Senate building amid reports of gunfire. Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said Manila will submit to the ICC request, while authorities await a Philippine Supreme Court ruling on the senator’s petition challenging the warrant’s legality. Dela Rosa had disappeared from public life after news of the impending warrant. He later reappeared to cast a deciding vote in a leadership contest, then fortified himself as law enforcement tried to arrest him. Gunshots followed when soldiers charged the Senate stairs, and by Thursday he was confirmed to be no longer in the building. Vida warned that helping him leave the country would be treated as a mockery of justice.
#international-criminal-court #philippines-politics #crimes-against-humanity #duterte-drug-war #arrest-warrant
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]