Ronald Dela Rosa addressed the media during an ambush interview at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, to discuss ongoing issues related to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant. Dela Rosa expressed his plea for understanding and sympathy from his fellow uniformed service comrades.
Maria Tan, News
MANILA — The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) requested the Supreme Court to reject Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s petition for an order to block the implementation of the ICC arrest warrant against him.
Dela Rosa submitted an urgent manifestation on May 11, stating that the court could now rule on the issue since the existence of the ICC warrant had already been confirmed. However, the Supreme Court did not issue a temporary restraining order. Instead, it asked for comments from government agencies involved in the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in March 2025. These agencies include the Office of the Executive Secretary, Ombudsman, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine National Police.
The ICC arrest warrant identified Dela Rosa as a "co-perpetrator" in the crimes against humanity case against Duterte. This case stems from the thousands of deaths recorded during the drug war under Duterte's presidency.
The OSG, which represented the government officials, argued that Republic Act 9851 — the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity — authorizes the government to enforce the ICC arrest warrant without needing validation by a Philippine court.
The solicitor general also reiterated that Dela Rosa’s case is not covered by Extradition Rules. They emphasized that an ICC surrender — where a state delivers a person to the court — differs from extradition, which is between states.
The OSG also maintained that Dela Rosa has put himself “beyond the reach of law enforcement,” and “the fugitive disentitlement should also apply to him.”
SC Asks Gov’t to Comment on Dela Rosa Petition, No TRO Issued
The Supreme Court stated in November that fugitives cannot seek judicial relief until they are under the court’s jurisdiction. “They can only restore their standing before the court through voluntary surrender,” the SC said then.
DRUG WAR
The officials pointed out the “stark contrast” between Dela Rosa’s experience and that of the victims of the drug war — the same alleged crimes against humanity that brought Duterte to The Hague in the Netherlands.
The officials said the victims were “never afforded the luxury of interpreting the law for themselves, never given the opportunity to question whether force should be used against them, never heard before judgment was effectively carried out.”
“They ended up dead, forever silenced, their deaths too often reduced to a single phrase: ‘nanlaban,’ the respondents commented.
The OSG stressed that, as the Philippine National Police chief during Duterte’s term, Dela Rosa launched and led the campaign that killed thousands, "among them the poor, the defenseless, even children, the nameless.”
DELA ROSA'S EXIT FROM SENATE 'GRAVE INJUSTICE' TO DRUG WAR VICTIMS, GROUPS SAY
‘INTERNATIONAL COURT NECESSARY’
The OSG noted that Dela Rosa's lack of accountability has shown the necessity of the intervention of an international court.
“Sen. Dela Rosa insists that only Philippine courts may hold him to account. Yet it was precisely the prolonged absence of accountability within domestic institutions that compelled victims and their families to seek refuge before the ICC,” it also said.
The government added that despite being charged of crimes “alleged to have struck at the conscience of humanity itself,” Dela Rosa “remained beyond the reach of prosecution and insulated by power.”
The SC extending another relief to Dela Rosa would send a message “that its protections are strongest for the powerful, and weakest for those who are now dead,” the OSG also said.
It has been confirmed that Dela Rosa left the Senate premises at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, despite being under protective custody.
Dela Rosa left the chamber hours after gunshots were heard, which some alleged was used as a “diversion tactic” to cover his “escape.”
Duterte, who has been at the ICC detention facility since his arrest March last year, is set to face a full trial before the international tribunal.
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