Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday stood by his claim that he has a copy, though unofficial, of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, even as the Department of Justice (DoJ) denied receiving any such document.
Speaking to reporters, Remulla said the warrant was stored on his mobile phone.
“I did that as my function for being a journalist also last Saturday because I ‘scooped’ it,” he said in Filipino and English. “If you ask me if there’s a warrant, there is. It is on my phone, but this is not an official copy yet. But I know there is.”
Remulla’s remarks came days after his radio interview where he first claimed he had “good authority” to reveal that the former Philippine National Police chief — now a senator — had been issued an ICC warrant in connection with the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The DoJ, which Remulla headed before he was appointed Ombudsman, maintained Tuesday that it had yet to receive any official communication or copy of such a warrant.
“At this point in time, the state is seriously studying all options available to it. We are not closing the door on extradition or surrender per se,” Chief State Counsel Dennis Chan said. “Until now, we have not seen or received a copy of this ICC warrant of arrest.”
Chan explained that discussions within the DoJ remained “in the theoretical space,” emphasizing that any government action would depend on confirmation from the proper channels.
“What we in the Department of Justice want to explain is that there are two options available to the state under Republic Act 9851 — that is, extradition or surrender,” he said. (See related story).
‘I got it first’
Remulla said he obtained the document before the department did. “They don’t have it, but I am ahead of them,” he quipped.
Pressed by reporters, he clarified that the file on his phone is not official but would eventually pass through “proper channels” before any action could be taken. “In my phone, there is a warrant — but this is not an official copy. It will pass through the proper channels for it to be implemented,” he said.
His statement, however, raised eyebrows both inside the government and abroad, with some questioning how the Ombudsman would have acquired an “unofficial” ICC document ahead of the DoJ.
From The Hague, international lawyer Nicolas Kaufman — who represents former President Duterte in the ICC proceedings — dismissed Remulla’s claim outright.
Kaufman called the supposed warrant “a figment of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla’s fertile imagination.”
“It goes against all common sense and prosecutorial logic for the ICC to issue further warrants in the context of the Philippines investigation until the issue of its ability to exercise jurisdiction over the so-called war on drugs has been finally resolved on appeal,” Kaufman said in a statement.