Senator dela Rosa returns to Senate as ICC arrest looms

SENATOR Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa, who has been absent since November 2025, returned to the Senate on Monday, sending the chamber on lockdown as authorities moved for his arrest over his alleged links to extrajudicial killings.

“What kind of government is this?” Mr. dela Rosa told reporters in Filipino at the Senate session hall, noting he was blocked by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from entering the building. 

“When I was absent, you were looking for me, saying I was getting paid even when I was not showing up. Now that I am here, the NBI blocked me. I ended up wounded.”

Former Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV said the NBI is within Senate premises to serve Mr. dela Rosa the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.

“[It’s a] sealed warrant that the PCTC (Philippine Center on Transnational Crime) transmitted just now. It’s the same procedure done during the arrest of former President [Rodrigo R.] Duterte,” he told reporters in mixed English and Filipino, showing a copy of the alleged warrant.    

Mr. Trillanes said he is joining the NBI in the arrest to fulfill Mr. dela Rosa’s “personal request.”

“It was Bato’s personal request that I accompany him if he were to be arrested. And now, he is here to be arrested,” he said in Filipino.

The ICC on Monday evening confirmed the documents published by authorities and circulated in media is an official ICC document.

“This arrest warrant against Mr. Ronald Marapon dela Rosa was issued confidentially, under seal, by Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC on 6 November 2025. The ICC is currently in the process of unsealing the warrant of arrest,” Oriane Maillet from the ICC Office of the Spokesperson told reporters over WhatsApp.

Newly elected Senate President Alan Peter S. Cayetano assured Mr. dela Rosa that he will be protected by the Senate.

“Senator Bato will enjoy the protection of the law and the protection of the Senate in accordance with our Philippine law,” said Mr. Cayetano, who rose to the helm after Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III was ousted on Monday.

“I am directing the OSAA (Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms) to put into Senate custody the said individuals and detain them within the Senate premises,” he told the plenary.

“If they need assistance, you are authorized to coordinate with the Pasay City PNP (Philippine National Police) until such time that those in contempt can purge themselves of contempt. Meaning, to satisfy us with their explanation.”

Also on Monday, Interior Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla, Jr. confirmed that the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has formally served a subpoena to Mr. dela Rosa, in relation to investigations into alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the Davao Region.

“Yes, it has been served in his office and his residence,” Mr. Remulla said during a livestreamed news briefing from Valenzuela City.

Mr. dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018 under the Duterte administration, was directed to appear before the CIDG’s Major Crimes Investigation Unit at Camp Crame on May 14.

According to the subpoena, the inquiry focuses on facts and circumstances surrounding alleged EJK cases based on House of Representatives Quad Committee hearings and public revelations made by Arturo B. Lascañas, a retired police officer and self-confessed former leader of the Davao Death Squad.

The order, signed by Police Major General Robert AA. Morico II, carries a warning that failure to comply without valid justification could result in a citation for indirect contempt of court under Rule 71 of the Revised Rules of Court.

Mr. Remulla said the probe is an initial step in determining why records and data related to alleged EJKs were supposedly compromised. He added that the investigation was separate from proceedings before the ICC.

ICC prosecutors have alleged that Mr. dela Rosa, described as one of the principal architects of the previous administration’s anti-drug campaign, may bear responsibility as a co-perpetrator with Mr. Duterte for crimes against humanity.

“But if the ICC warrant arrives, then we will act on it,” Mr. Remulla said.

Meanwhile, a lawyer representing victims of the “war on drugs” before the ICC said no reorganization is expected on the side of the victims’ legal team despite changes in Mr. Duterte’s defense panel.

“No, there will be no reorganization expected in victims’ team, but better source would be the Common Legal Representatives of Victims themselves,” Maria Kristina C. Conti, an ICC assistant to counsel, told BusinessWorld via a Viber chat on Monday.

This comes after lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman and associate counsel Dov Jacobs moved to withdraw from Mr. Duterte’s legal team ahead of trial proceedings. Court filings showed that Mr. Duterte has already chosen a new lawyer to represent him during the trial phase, although the identity of the replacement counsel was redacted in public documents.

“For the defense team, the reorganization (their withdrawal) is wholly their prerogative, but our interest is against any delay or disruption in the proceedings,” Ms. Conti said.

“So, this scenario is something we prepared for. We stand that as of now, there should be no delay as the trial phase is only starting,” she said.

Filipino lawyer Gilbert T. Andres said the withdrawal of the defense counsels should not delay trial proceedings.

“Based also on the tenor of the Defense filing on lead counsel’s withdrawal, there should be no cause to reschedule the May 27 status conference hearing,” said Mr. Andres, a designated legal representative for the victims, via Facebook Messenger.

“As ICC proceedings are victim-centered, the Victims reiterate their right to expeditious proceedings and to truth and justice,” he added. — Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel and Erika Mae P. Sinaking