Philippines vows to hand fugitive senator to ICC following shootout

Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa wanted for alleged role as top enforcer in ex-president Duterte’s deadly drug war.The Philippines has pledged to cooperate with a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to detain a prominent politician who evaded arrest earlier this week as he fled the Senate building despite efforts by the army to arrest him and reports of gunfire.Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Friday that Manila had received the court’s arrest warrant for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the country’s former national police chief, and considers it valid.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Philippine politician wanted by ICC flees Senatelist 2 of 4Gunshots ring out at Philippine Senate where lawmaker is holed uplist 3 of 4Philippine senator flees ICC arrest over role in Duterte’s drug warlist 4 of 4Philippine Congress impeaches VP Sara Duterte for second timeend of listThe ICC unsealed the warrant against dela Rosa, 64, on Monday, on charges of crimes against humanity. The former police chief was instrumental in leading former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, in which thousands of people were targeted in extrajudicial killings.“We will definitely submit to the request of the ICC,” Vida told reporters, noting that authorities are waiting for the Philippine Supreme Court to resolve the senator’s petition against its legality.Senate shootoutNews of the ICC’s impending warrant in November had seen dela Rosa disappear from public life. However, he emerged on Monday, when he intended to cast the deciding vote in a leadership contest that would have handed power to a Duterte ally.Finding law enforcement agents waiting for him, the former police chief – who has denied any involvement in the killings, which took place in 2016 – 2019, fortified himself in the Senate building.Two days later, the Senate was shaken by more than a dozen gunshots as armed soldiers charged up the stairs of the legislative building to try to arrest him.