Philippine senator flees ICC arrest over role in Duterte’s drug war

News|Rodrigo Duterte

A senator from the Philippines has taken refuge inside the country’s parliament after the International Criminal Court unsealed an arrest warrant regarding his role in the Philippines’ deadly drug war.

Ronald Dela Rosa was pictured by local media fleeing into the Senate building on Monday, as police sought to detain him.

list of 3 items

list 1 of 3Duterte’s drug war faces judgement at the ICC
list 2 of 3ICC confirms crimes against humanity trial of ex-Philippine leader Duterte
list 3 of 3Philippine lawmakers impeach Vice President Sara Duterte

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The warrant, which had been held under seal since November, was spurred by the former police chief’s role in ex-President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs, which prosecutors ‌say killed tens of thousands during his time in office in 2016-2022.

The ICC confirmed on Monday evening that the warrant had been issued confidentially on November 6. It charges Dela Rosa as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the “crime against humanity of murder”.

The former police chief is accused of responsibility for killings carried out between July 2016 and April 2018.

Duterte is accused of having created, funded and armed death squads to kill suspected narcotics dealers and users during his time as president.

The former head of state was arrested and taken to The Hague by the ICC in March 2025. Charges of crimes against humanity were confirmed in April this year.

The ICC has named eight co-perpetrators in the case, including Dela Rosa, who ran the Philippine National Police during the height of the drug war, and oversaw operations that human rights groups say killed tens of thousands.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures puts a hat on Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa during Dela Rosa's Assumption of Command Ceremony at the Camp Crame in Manila on July 1, 2016. Authoritarian firebrand Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as the Philippines' president on June 30, after promising a ruthless and deeply controversial war on crime would be the main focus of his six-year term. (Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP) — Ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte puts a hat on then-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa [Noel Celis/AFP]

Rumours of an impending warrant in November had seen Dela Rosa vanish from public life. However, he resurfaced on Monday to cast the deciding vote in a Senate leadership coup by Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano.

However, on arrival at the parliament, he found National Bureau of Investigation agents in wait, and local media video showed him fleeing through the chamber’s corridors.

Cayetano quickly placed the Senate on “lockdown” and told reporters he would only honour an arrest order made by a Philippine court.

Later on Monday, Dela Rosa went live on Facebook to appeal for support.

“They want to fly me to The Hague,” he said. “I became Philippine National Police chief to work, then this is what they will do to me?”