‘Actions speak louder than words’: Drug war victims press gov’t to arrest Dela Rosa

MANILA — For the victims of the war on drugs, the P50-million bounty is not as important as the actual arrest and surrender of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa to the International Criminal Court, according to lawyer Gilbert Andres.

Andres reiterated the call for Philippine authorities to arrest Dela Rosa and surrender him to the ICC to face trial, together with former President Rodrigo Duterte, for crimes against humanity. 

“Para po sa mga bikitma, ang mahalaga po ay actions speak louder than words kaya gawin po ng gobyerno ang lahat ng makakaya nila na matiwasay pong i-implement ang ICC arrest warrant,” Andres said. 

Andres said the P50-million bounty was a non-issue, as the camp of Dela Rosa continued to argue that there was no legal basis for the issuance of a bounty for an arrest warrant that was not issued by a Philippine court.

“Hindi nga issue iyon, meron tayong batas, pwede kang mag-surrender ng tao na iniimbestigahan ng isang international criminal court kagaya ng ICC,” Andres said.

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have named Dela Rosa as one of eight “co-perpetrators” in the drug crackdown that killed thousands of drug suspects and drug users during the Duterte presidency.

The former national police chief has been in hiding since May, when officers attempted to serve an ICC warrant charging him with the crime against humanity of murder.