Philippines' Senator says arrest imminent, urges public to block ICC transfer

The chief enforcer in former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody "war on drugs" said on Wednesday his arrest was imminent and urged people to mobilise to prevent his handover to the International Criminal Court.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who has taken refuge in his legislative office since Monday, urged the public to turn out and block his arrest and said law enforcement agents were on the way following the ICC's unsealing of an arrest warrant.

The warrant, dated November and made public on Monday, seeks the arrest of the former police chief on charges of crimes against humanity, the same crimes 81-year-old Duterte is accused of as he awaits trial in The Hague following his arrest last year.

"I am appealing to you, I hope you can help me. Do not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague," dela Rosa said in a video posted on Facebook from his Senate office.

DUTERTE'S TOP LIEUTENANT

Dela Rosa, 64, was Duterte's top lieutenant overseeing a fierce crackdown during which thousands of alleged drug dealers were slain, with human rights groups accusing police of systematic murders and cover-ups.

Police reject the allegations and say the more than 6,000 killed in anti-drugs operations were all armed and had resisted arrest.

Activists says the real death toll may never be known, with users and small-time peddlers gunned down almost daily in mysterious slumland killings that were blamed on vigilantes and turf wars.

The Senate was heavily guarded on Wednesday, with lines of police deployed to keep the peace as protesters gathered, some calling for the arrest of dela Rosa, better known in the Philippines as "Bato", or "rock".

Reuters witnesses saw more than 10 military personnel in camouflage fatigues inside the Senate building, some carrying assault rifles.

It was not immediately clear why the military was there and officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Dela Rosa, who showed up at the Senate on Monday for the first time since disappearing from public view in November, has appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr not to hand him over to the ICC.

DELA ROSA CHALLENGES ICC JURISDICTION

Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca said agents of the National Bureau of Investigation were outside the Senate building on Wednesday, but there was an agreement with the agency's chief that they would not enter.

“We won’t allow them," Aplasca told reporters.

The NBI's director did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

Dela Rosa has filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court urging it to block any attempt to transfer him to The Hague. The court in a statement on Wednesday gave all parties to the petition 72 hours to respond.

Dela Rosa has denied involvement in illegal killing and insists any transfer to the ICC would be illegal, as the country is no longer a signatory to the Rome Statute.

Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2018 when its prosecutor announced a preliminary examination into his anti-drugs campaign had started. The ICC says alleged crimes committed while a country was a member are under its jurisdiction.

Duterte is set to become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC, a court he repeatedly dared to pursue him during a succession of public speeches, saying he was ready to "rot in jail" to protect his people from the drugs scourge.

He maintains his innocence, according to his legal team.