Senator Ronald dela Rosa is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in country’s deadly anti-drug crackdown that saw thousands killed
Philippine authorities are seeking to confirm reports that a lawmaker wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) secretly left the Senate premises where he had spent days evading arrest, an official said.
Presidential communications undersecretary Clare Castro told a press conference that authorities were trying to confirm the whereabouts of senator Ronald dela Rosa, after reports suggested he had slipped out of the heavily guarded building undetected before dawn.
“Several sources confirmed that the Senator, Senator Bato, is no longer in the Senate premises, but we are still getting official confirmation,” she told media, adding there had been no operations launched so far to arrest him.
Ronald dela Rosa, a senator who is wanted by the ICC for his role in overseeing former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, avoided arrest earlier this week after he dramatically outran government agents and was offered protective custody by allies in the senate chamber.
