ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Philippine Senator Bato Dela Rosa

Senator Ronald dela Rosa fled through the hallways and stairwells of the Philippine Senate building on May 11 as agents from the National Bureau of Investigation attempted to arrest him under an International Criminal Court warrant. Security camera footage captured the pursuit, which ended with dela Rosa taking refuge inside a senator's office.

By evening, barbed wire and riot police surrounded the complex while the national union of journalists reported that media workers had been blocked from entering or leaving. The ICC confirmed on May 11 that it had unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa originally issued in November 2025.

The warrant states that he acted as an indirect co-perpetrator in the killing of at least 32 people and controlled a structure of power that enabled systematic drug war killings. Government data show at least 6,252 deaths in official police anti-drug operations by May 2022, though human rights groups estimate the total toll near 30,000 when including vigilante killings.

Dela Rosa, who served as national police chief under former President Rodrigo Duterte, spent the night in a Senate office after the chamber's newly elected president, Alan Peter Cayetano, offered protective custody. Cayetano stated the Senate would only allow an arrest under a warrant from a Philippine court.

Police later said they would not execute the ICC warrant while dela Rosa remained in Senate custody.

The ICC pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe dela Rosa knew about the scope of the operations and acted with intent. The warrant states he used his position as Davao City police chief to enable Davao Death Squad killings and developed the "Tokhang" police operation style that was later expanded nationwide.

It further alleges he created a network of perpetrators, appointed key personnel to strategic positions, and maintained both de jure and de facto control over those carrying out the killings. Dela Rosa has denied any wrongdoing and said he would remain inside the Senate and do everything possible to avoid being taken to The Hague.