PNP readies plan for possible ICC arrest order for Bato

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is preparing a contingency plan should the International Criminal Court issue a warrant of arrest for Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, the chief implementor of the bloody war on drugs of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

- With Janvic Mateo

This was according to new PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III who declined to give details, saying "we'll cross the bridge when we get there."

At a briefing yesterday—his first as PNP chief—Torre said he did not want to speculate on what might unfold in the coming days.

"It's hard to pre-empt what can happen. What if nothing comes up?" he said.

Torre explained that "it's really something that has to be acted upon, when it's already there. We'll make a decision as it comes."

When he was the director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Torre personally arrested Duterte last March in compliance with a red notice alert from the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol.

Dela Rosa was Duterte's first PNP chief who implemented the early stages of the former president's anti-drug campaign.

Also at the same briefing, Torre challenged former presidential spokesman Harry Roque to return to the country and face the qualified human trafficking case filed against him.