Tolentino wants to help dela Rosa in his legal battle with ICC

Sen. Francis Tolentino expressed his willingness on Friday, March 21, 2025, to provide legal advice to Sen. Roland “Bato” dela Rosa should an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) be issued against him. (Voltaire F. Domingo / Senate Social Media Unit)

MANILA, Philippines — “My line is open.”

Sen. Francis Tolentino, a lawyer, expressed his willingness to provide legal advice to Sen. Roland “Bato” dela Rosa should an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) be issued against him.

In 2023, Tolentino said he would stand as a legal counsel for his fellow lawmakers in the probe of the ICC into the bloody war on drugs during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

But in a press conference in Cavite on Friday, Tolentino said he knew dela Rosa had already changed his legal counsel.

“I mentioned that two or three yeas ago, but there were statements that came out last year saying that I was replaced by Senator Bato,” Tolentino said in Filipino.

“The lawyer he got was Harry Roque. Amid what’s happening now, Senator deal Rosa and I  haven’t talked — not even through text messaging,” he added.

Despite this, he emphasized that he would be willing to provide legal advice if dela Rosa needed it.

“But I haven’t received a call for even a second since all this started,” he added.

Being Duterte’s former top cop, dela Rosa, was the one who issued Command Memorandum Circular No.  16-2016 when he assumed power as Philippine Nnational Police chief.

The memo was the basis for Project Double Barrel which started Duterte’s war on drugs.

This particular role landed him on the roster of Duterte administration officials who were accused of crimes against humanity by drug war victims-families before the ICC.

READ: Bato dela Rosa still in PH, not hiding

Lawyer Kristina Conti, an ICC assistant to counsel, earlier told INQUIRER.net that dela Rosa and retired police chief Oscar Albayalde could be the next to receive arrest warrants from the ICC for crimes against humanity over their roles in the previous administration’s drug war.

READ: Bato dela Rosa, Oscar Albayalde next on ICC arrest list?

“There are three names mentioned in the ICC documents. These are Duterte, dela Rosa and Albayalde. There are three additional names of police officers who are allegedly involved as well, but the documents pertaining to them are still unofficial,” Conti said.