ICC redacts Duterte’s 9 ‘co-perpetrators’; Dela Rosa possibly included

FILE PHOTO: View of the ICC, the International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Associated Press Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is now detained over crimes against humanity, has nine co-perpetrators in the implementation of his drug war, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said.

However, the ICC document dated March 13 redacted the names of the nine co-perpetrators.

Part of the 54-page document stated: “His co-perpetrators included, each for at least part of the temporal period: [REDACTED]14 [REDACTED]15 [REDACTED]16 [REDACTED]; 17 [REDACTED]; 18 [REDACTED]; 19 [REDACTED]; 20 [REDACTED]; 21 [REDACTED]; 22 and other members of the Philippine National Police (“PNP”) and high ranking government officials (together, including DUTERTE: “the co-perpetrators”).”

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said reelectionist Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa could be included in this portion, along with other four former Philippine National Police (PNP) whose names he did not divulge.

“I will state for the record that even before the warrant of arrest was issued, I was already acting as counsel for Senator Bato and four other former PNP chiefs including—I will not mention their names anymore, okay—but four other PNP chiefs who could also be named as co-accused in this case,” Roque said in an online briefing on Monday.

READ: Senate can’t save Dela Rosa, says ICC-accredited lawyer

“Remember, the term is co-perpetrator, which to me is also very intriguing because it is the first time I hear the designation as co-perpetrators… that is curious, that the warrant of arrest said he is a co-perpetrator. There could also be other co-perpetrators,” he added.

READ: ICC sets Duterte confirmation of charges hearing Sept. 23

Dela Rosa previously said he has yet to receive any warrant of arrest from the ICC over his alleged involvement in the war on drugs.

Earlier, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Dela Rosa could take sanctuary in the upper chamber. However, Joel Butuyan, an ICC-accredited lawyer, said Dela Rosa could not do so since his case has an imposable penalty of at least 30 years, while the law only allows an imposable penalty of six years.

At least 6,000 lives were killed during the war on drugs during Duterte’s term, according to official government data. But human rights watchdogs and the ICC prosecutor estimated the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.

On March 12, Duterte was arrested in Ninoy Aquino International Airport and was detained at the Villamor Air Base the same day. He has since arrived in The Hague, where he is now being detained. Duterte had his pretrial on March 14, while his confirmation of charges will be held on September 23, before which he could appeal for an interim release.