ASEANEWS HEADLINE-DU30’S ICC-EJK CASE | MANILA, Philippines: ICC arrest orders vs Duterte ‘co-perpetrators’ pushed
Building of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands./ Wikimedia Commons
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ICC warrant vs ‘co-perpetrators’ of Duterte awaited by EJK victims’ families | (16 February 2026)
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MANILA, Philippines — Human rights organizations are pushing for the immediate arrest of Senators Bong Go and Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and other individuals identified as alleged co-perpetrators of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity case filed against him at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) said it welcomes the release of the less redacted version of the filing and calls for the ICC to urgently issue arrest warrants for Dela Rosa, Go and the others named.
“So that they can also face trial, along with their boss Duterte,” ICHRP chairman Peter Murphy said in a media statement.
“It remains abundantly clear that the Philippine judicial system is unable to prosecute these alleged co-perpetrators. While still at large they are a risk for destruction of evidence, intimidation of witnesses and also flight risks,” he added.
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For the Duterte Panagutin Network, the disclosure of more information in the case “further exposes the systematic and organized character of the killings and reinforces the necessity of pursuing accountability at all levels from the bottom to the top.”
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor on Feb. 13 filed a lesser redacted version of the document containing charges against Duterte, which was originally filed on July 4, 2025.
Aside from Dela Rosa and Go, also named were former Philippine National Police chiefs Oscar Albayalde, Vicente Danao and Camilo Cascolan.
Former National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran, former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Isidro Lapeña and former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II were also listed as co-conspirators.
The document also referred to “other members of the PNP and high-ranking government officials.”
Go has denied allegations contained in a redacted version of the charges issued by the ICC prosecutor on Feb. 13, where his name was identified as an alleged co-perpetrator.
The senator reiterated that he and his mentor Duterte have always prioritized the welfare of Filipinos they committed to serve.
Go further clarified that such allegations are not only unfounded but even goes beyond the actual scope of his work during his previous government roles as presidential special assistant (2016-2018) and executive assistant to the Davao mayor (1998-2016).
He explained that responsibilities given to him then were merely administrative and clerical in nature while helping in Duterte’s personal concerns and not related to police or operational matters.
“Let me be clear, at no time did I have any involvement in, knowledge of, or authority over these allegations. It is also inaccurate to claim that I was Chief of the Presidential Management Staff then, since at no point in time did that responsibility fall under mine,” the senator emphasized.
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Moreover, he maintained that his actions throughout his career were guided by lawful conduct and moral responsibility which were inculcated in him by his then principal.
He added that throughout his tenure in serving alongside Duterte in the past, the latter never gave any illegal order to him and has reminded him to “always do what is right.”
The senator further stressed that the accusations would not deter him from carrying out his current mandate as legislator.
ICC mum on arrest warrants
Meanwhile, the ICC Office of the Prosecutor declined to confirm if arrest warrants have been requested for Dela Rosa, Go and the other alleged co-perpetrators.
“The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has an ongoing investigation in relation to the situation in the Philippines. This investigation focuses on crimes allegedly committed on the territory of the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ campaign,” it said in a statement sent to reporters.
“The Office cannot provide comments on matters related to ongoing investigations and any specific charges that may arise in relation to situations addressed by the Office. This approach is essential to protect the integrity of the investigations and to ensure the safety and security of victims, witnesses and all those with whom the Office interacts,” it added.
‘Lacking in truth’
Duterte’s defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman said the allegations are “completely lacking in truth.”
“None of these co-perpetrators are, in my opinion, currently subject to arrest warrants. It flies in the face of prosecutorial logic to seek further warrants in the Philippines situation before the decision of the Appeals Chamber on the former President’s jurisdictional challenge,” Kaufman said.
He said the reporting of the list “is clearly politically motivated and designed to decimate the Senate in the hope of perverting the democratic will of the Filipino people.”
Aguirre denies involvement
Meanwhile, Ag
uirre denied his involvement in the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) linked to the former administration’s war on drugs.
“I am not involved in their accusations against me of crimes against humanity. I did nothing wrong,” he said in a statement.
According to him, two instances were cited as possible sources of his violations: him acting as counsel for Duterte and other suspected members of the Davao death squad or DDS in 2009 and when he served as justice secretary.
Aguirre said that for the first instance, he was merely exercising his profession as a lawyer, but he “never conspired or participated in any extrajudicial killings.”
He also said that during his stint as the Department of Justice chief, he never engaged in any EJK or supported its implementation.
“I believe that some people are trying very hard to link me to this War on Drugs to make it appear that EJK was part of the so-called common plan or a national policy of the Duterte administration for their EJK accusations against PRRD (Duterte) to be credible,” Aguirre said.
He noted that it was through him as justice secretary that the families of slain youth Kian delos Santos, Carlo Arnaiz and Reynaldo de Guzman were brought to Malacañang to meet Duterte.
“After the meeting, the policemen involved in their killings were all tried and convicted by the courts,” he said.
The ICC has scheduled the confirmation of charges hearing in the Duterte case on Feb. 23. Duterte has been detained in The Hague, Netherlands for 11 months. — Daphne Galvez
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