MANILA, May 13 (Reuters) – Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa said on Wednesday that his arrest was imminent and urged people to mobilise to prevent him from being sent to the International Criminal Court.
Dela Rosa, the chief enforcer in former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs, has been hunkered down in his Senate office for three days, fearing he would be arrested.
The ICC unsealed an arrest warrant on Monday for the former police chief, dated November, 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.
The Philippine National Bureau of Investigation, which dela Rosa said would be carrying out his arrest, did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
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.
He has also filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court urging it to block any attempt to transfer him.
(Reporting by Nestor Corrales and Karen Lema; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by David Stanway)
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