Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Philippine authorities will arrest Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa once the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) is out.

Remulla was asked about the role of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) if and when an arrest warrant is issued against the senator.

If the arrest warrant is issued and validated by the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime or Department of Justice or Interpol, we will arrest him, Remulla said.

In November, Dela Rosa asked the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent the government from implementing the arrest warrant allegedly issued against him by the ICC.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, then Justice Secretary, earlier said the ICC has reportedly issued a warrant against Dela Rosa. According to him, he has an unofficial copy of the warrant.

The DOJ earlier said the Philippine government will carry out the arrest warrant if the ICC issues it, and that the government can choose to extradite or surrender Dela Rosa to the tribunal.

Dela Rosa’s counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, said the government has no legal basis to surrender any of its citizens to an international tribunal due to the absence of rules governing the process.

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV previously noted that Dela Rosa and four other high-ranking ex-police officials have been tagged as suspects in the ICC probe into the war on illegal drugs.

Trillanes is one of the personalities who filed a case against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the ICC.

Dela Rosa served as the chief of the Philippine National Police during the implementation of the drug war under the Duterte administration, a campaign that reportedly resulted in thousands of deaths as a result of police operations.