Sen. Ronald dela Rosa | File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta, Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has tagged as “suspects” former national police chief and now Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and four other retired and current police officers for alleged involvement in the deaths of thousands of people in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
In a July 3 ICC document shared by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Thursday, the prosecutor of The Hague-based tribunal found “reasonable grounds to believe” that the five former and current Philippine National Police officials had “concrete involvement” in the systematic killings in the ruthless implementation of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
In addition to Dela Rosa, the others named by the ICC prosecutor’s office were retired PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Romeo Caramat Jr., former National Police Commission chief Edilberto Leonardo, and former PNP chief intelligence officer Eleazar Mata.
Dela Rosa left the PNP following his mandatory retirement in 2018 and won a Senate seat in 2019. He was succeeded by Albayalde, who led the police force until his retirement in 2019.
Leonardo, a police colonel who retired in 2020, also served as environment undersecretary under the Duterte administration.‘What’s new?’
Caramat and Mata remain active in the PNP, as the acting police commander of northern Luzon and drug enforcement group director, respectively.
Asked for comment, Dela Rosa was nonchalant.
“What’s new?
My name was always mentioned since 2016. Seems like a broken record that keeps on repeating the same lines,” he told the Inquirer.
In addition to Dela Rosa and Leonardo, there were nine other people implicated in the charges against Duterte—former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Police Supt. Royina Garma, ex-House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, former Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, former SPO4 Sanson Buenaventura, former National Bureau of Investigation Director Dante Gerran, former Solicitor General Jose Calida, former Sen. Richard Gordon, and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
According to Trillanes, Dela Rosa and the four others are considered “primary suspects,” along with Duterte, the alleged “principal suspect,” in the complaint of crimes against humanity for the murder of thousands in the ex-president’s war on drugs.
In naming them as suspects, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor, headed by Karim Khan, cited Article 55 (2) of the Rome Statute, which states that they have the right to be informed about the charges prior to facing interrogation by the prosecutor.
Under the ICC rules, they have the right to be informed that “there are grounds to believe” that they have “committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the court,” to remain silent, to have legal assistance, and “to be questioned in the presence of counsel” unless they voluntarily waive their right to counsel.
The confidential ICC document, parts of which were redacted to conceal sensitive information, was signed by Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Khan.
Trillanes declined to elaborate on whether the July 3 document would lead to the issuance of arrest warrants or that the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I, which is assigned to decide once it becomes a full-blown case, was preparing to release them.
“They are still in the finishing stages of the investigation,” he told the Inquirer in an exchange of messages.
“Once the warrants are out, the Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) would be the agency that would facilitate the execution of the warrants,” Trillanes said.
Warrants servable
Lawyers representing the families of the drug war victims have asserted that enforcing arrest warrants handed down by the ICC was “not impossible” as it could be done through the Interpol where the Philippines remains a member.
The country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the 2002 document establishing the ICC, took effect in March 2019.
But the ICC has maintained that it continued to have jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines, from Nov. 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019 — when the country was still a member of the international court.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly said that the Philippines would not cooperate with any ICC processes, including the ongoing investigation of his predecessor’s bloody drug war.
The complaint accusing Duterte of crimes against humanity is currently classified as “situations” in the ICC, meaning no case has been formalized or “confirmed” by the pretrial chamber against him.
It is still under the investigation stage, which involves “gathering evidence and identifying a suspect,” according to the ICC process. It is also at this stage when a warrant of arrest is issued or when an identified suspect is summoned to appear before the court.
The inquiry will then be followed by the pretrial stage when the judges “confirm the suspect’s identity and ensure the suspect understands the charges.”
The ICC investigation of the alleged murders of thousands of suspected drug users and pushers during police operations “as part of policy” to eradicate the “drug menace” in the country began in September 2021.
READ: Dela Rosa, 4 others now suspects in ICC ‘drug war’ case – Trillanes
Two months later, the Philippine government appealed to stop the investigation, saying that it would conduct its own probe and prosecution of crimes related to the conduct of the drug war. The ICC appeals chamber rejected this in July 2023.
May lighten sentence
Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares on Thursday urged the “suspects” to cooperate with the ICC prosecutor and disclose information about the drug war, suggesting that it could potentially lead to lighter sentences.
“By telling all, these suspects can contribute to ending the impunity that has long plagued our country and help ensure that such human rights violations never happen again,” he said in a statement.
“By cooperating with the ICC and providing crucial information, they not only have the opportunity to clear their consciences but also to potentially reduce their culpability in the eyes of the court,” Colmenares said.
He said the importance of transparency was in the interest of the drug war victims and their families.
“The Filipino people deserve to know the full extent of the atrocities committed under the guise of a ‘war on drugs,’” the former lawmaker said. “These officials have a moral and legal obligation to come forward with the truth, not just for their own sakes, but for the thousands of victims and their families who continue to seek justice.”