(UPDATE) SEN. Ronald dela Rosa on Tuesday appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to protect Filipinos from arrest and prosecution by foreign courts, after he hid in the Senate to avoid arrest on the strength of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Dela Rosa, who oversaw the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs as chief of the Philippine National Police, was named a co-perpetrator in the crimes against humanity charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is in The Hague awaiting trial before the ICC.
Emerging from a five-month absence from the Senate, dela Rosa said he is willing to face any charges against him in a Philippine court.
On Monday, the senator was seen on CCTV footage running along corridors in the Senate, fleeing from NBI agents seeking to arrest him, and stumbling at one point while going up a stairway.
Dela Rosa on Tuesday emotionally appealed to President Marcos not to allow him to be turned over to foreign authorities in The Hague. He argued that surrendering Filipino citizens to foreign courts would set a dangerous precedent not only for him but for all Filipinos.
The senator also said President Marcos may be aware that “what happened to former president Duterte could also happen to him.”
‘Law must be followed’
The Palace on Tuesday said President Marcos is aware of the warrant of arrest issued by the ICC against dela Rosa, and told all enforcement agencies to follow the law at all times.
“The president heard about what happened yesterday. And the president’s order to all enforcement agencies at all times, not only with regard to Senator Bato (dela Rosa), is to follow what the law says,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said in Filipino.
The ICC has confirmed its issuance of the arrest order for dela Rosa, which was issued under seal in November 2025.
Dela Rosa sought refuge in the Senate Monday to avoid being arrested by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents seeking to serve the ICC arrest warrant.
Castro said Republic Act 9851, also known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, would be invoked.
“We are not a member of the ICC, the existing law for us is RA 9851. And that will be implemented in any instance. RA 9851 has also been used by the Supreme Court in other cases in the past,” she said.
It was the same law cited when former president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested and turned over to the international tribunal in March 2025.
Castro pointed out that although the country is no longer a member of the Rome Statute, RA 9851 may be cited to effectively cuff dela Rosa through the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol.
Castro also pointed out that there are legal limitations to the Senate’s protective custody over dela Rosa.
“There is something called a privilege so that no senator can be arrested while in session when he is in the vicinity of the Senate. But we know that it has a limit. When you commit a crime that has a penalty of more than six years, this privilege will not apply,” she said.
“We may waive our right and allow the international court to conduct the investigation. And we only follow the provision of RA 9851,” she added.
The official said senators should be aware that their authority has limitations and must not allow dela Rosa, and others accused of crimes, to use the senate as a “sanctuary” to evade arrest and prosecution.
“They should know what the law is because they are legislators. So, they know what their limits are, what their authority is, what their power is, but they should not go beyond the law,” Castro said.
‘I did not kill anyone’
Dela Rosa said accountability should be pursued through local legal institutions rather than international tribunals.
“If they want accountability, they should file cases here in the Philippines,” he said, pointing out that no local court has issued an order against him.
He denied allegations linking him to extrajudicial killings during the anti-drug campaign.
“They know I did not kill anyone and I never ordered anyone to kill,” he said, adding that the accusations before the ICC were “fabricated.” Asked about his role in the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, Dela Rosa said his responsibility was to lead the anti-drug campaign, not to order unlawful killings.
“My role was to lead the war on drugs. That does not mean killing everyone,” he said.
The senator maintained that police officers were instructed to defend themselves only when their lives were in danger and insisted that abuses were investigated whenever complaints arose.
Dela Rosa also addressed questions regarding a subpoena from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, saying his legal team is prepared to respond.
“We have many lawyers who can handle it,” he said. He added that he intends to avail himself of all available legal remedies should legal proceedings move forward.
Dela Rosa alleged that the cases being filed against him and members of the Duterte camp were politically motivated and intended to weaken the Duterte family’s influence.
“All of this is meant to bring down the Dutertes,” he said.
Due process
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday said the Senate is prepared to receive any warrant related to dela Rosa, but emphasized that any arrest must still undergo proper legal procedures under Philippine law.
“There’s no problem with serving the warrant. We are lawmakers, not lawbreakers,” Cayetano said in an interview.
He said authorities may formally present any warrant before the Senate, but he said enforcement must be supported by a warrant issued by a Philippine court.
“What we are saying is that there must first be a warrant of arrest from a Philippine court,” he said.
Cayetano said historically, senators who sought refuge or protection within the Senate were granted due process and allowed to exhaust all legal remedies before voluntarily surrendering to authorities.
He said the same principle should apply to dela Rosa.
He acknowledged the emotions surrounding the issue, particularly among families of victims of the anti-drug campaign, but emphasized that the country must remain governed by law.
Cayetano added that if all legal remedies are exhausted and local courts order compliance, the Senate itself would advise dela Rosa to surrender.
He added that dela Rosa had previously assured him that he would follow the law once all legal processes in the Philippine courts had been completed.
“He is a policeman and a senator. He said that if it reaches that point after exhausting remedies, he will comply,” Cayetano said.
Sen. Robinhood Padilla accompanied dela Rosa, who spent the night in the office of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said dela Rosa is now “effectively contained” as he returned to the Senate grounds after over five months in hiding. In a radio interview, Lacson said if dela Rosa goes out of the Senate, he could be arrested on the basis of the ICC warrant.
He questioned the new Senate leadership’s move to cite in contempt the NBI agents who pursued dela Rosa through the Senate hallways in their attempt to serve the ICC warrant of arrest.
Lacson said because the NBI agents’ “offense” did not occur during a committee hearing, they should be cited for indirect contempt and ordered to show cause and explain why they should not be cited in direct contempt.
“What happened Monday was procedurally faulty. The alleged offense of pursuing dela Rosa was already finished, before the motion to cite them in contempt of the Senate was made and immediately approved,” Lacson added.
PNP awaits court order
The Philippine National Police (PNP) said they are awaiting orders to implement “contingency plans” following the ICC confirmation that an arrest warrant had indeed been issued against dela Rosa.
“The PNP remains guided by existing laws and lawful directives in relation to the reported ICC warrant confirmation,” the law enforcement agency’s spokesman, BGen. Randulf Tuaño, said in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
“In the event that a court order is issued based on coordination through the NCB/PCTC (National Central Bureau / Philippine Center on Transnational Crime) and concerned authorities, the PNP will implement the appropriate contingency plans and necessary operational measures in accordance with due process and established protocols,” he added.
The NCB is the designated, official focal point for all International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)-related activities within a member country. Its role is to manage Interpol-related activities, including issuing red notices for wanted individuals.
The PCTC is the country’s liaison to Interpol.
On Monday afternoon, tensions erupted in the Senate following the NBI attempt to arrest dela Rosa to implement an alleged ICC arrest warrant presented by former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of former president Rodrigo Duterte and his allies.
Shortly after, the ICC confirmed the authenticity of the warrant of arrest against dela Rosa.
“The International Criminal Court confirms that the document published by national authorities of the Republic of the Philippines and circulated in [the] media is indeed a formal ICC document,” ICC spokesman Orianne Maillet said in a video confirmation.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor welcomed the decision of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I to make public the arrest warrant against dela Rosa, which had initially been issued under seal on Nov. 6, 2025 in connection with extrajudicial killings during the Philippines’ war on drugs.
In a statement dated May 11, the prosecution office said the warrant was officially transmitted to Philippine authorities following its unsealing, marking a key procedural step in the court’s ongoing investigation into the war on drugs under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
No plane waiting
In other developments the Philippine Air Force (PAF) denied having knowledge of a supposed chartered plane at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on standby to transfer dela Rosa to The Hague, Netherlands following the confirmation of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. Col. Maria Christina Basco, PAF spokesman, issued the statement after dela Rosa’s lawyer, Isaraelito Torreon, said they received reports that a charter plane was ready to fly the senator to The Hague, similar to what happened to Duterte, who was flown to the Netherlands less than 24 hours after he was arrested.
Vice President Sara Duterte said that it was “wrong” to arrest dela Rosa at the Senate using a warrant issued by the ICC. WITH BERNADETTE TAMAYO, FRANCO JOSE BAROÑA, RED MENDOZA
