Scurrying by way of the backhalls and stairwells of the Philippine Senate, trailed by aides and falling over at the very least as soon as, the massive, bald man was making an attempt to evade native agents.
At the middle of this comedic cat-and-mouse chase was Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a longtime ally of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has gone from a robust enforcer of a bloody drug crackdown to a wished felony on the run.
The scene was captured on CCTV and rapidly grew to become speak of your entire nation.
Prosecutors on the International Criminal Court (ICC) accuse Dela Rosa of conspiring with Duterte in alleged crimes in opposition to humanity, throughout a brutal anti-drug marketing campaign that killed 1000’s.
On Monday, the ICC confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant for him, citing incidents by which 32 folks had been killed between 2016 to 2018. When native investigative unit officers failed to arrest the 64-year-old, having pursued him by way of the bowels of parliament, riot police surrounded the Senate compound.
In response, diehard supporters of Dela Rosa and Duterte gathered to protest in opposition to the ICC’s warrant.
More than 100 supporters camped outdoors the Senate constructing in a single day, waving the nationwide flag and blocking close by roads, earlier than being dispersed by police.
A spokesperson for the ICC informed NCS that as a judicial establishment, it “relies on States cooperation to implement its arrest warrants,” including it can want “national authorities to arrest and surrender the suspect” to its courtroom.
By Wednesday, the scenario remained in a stalemate. Dela Rosa had holed up within the Senate constructing for 2 nights, pleading in a livestreamed press convention on Facebook not to be despatched to The Hague within the Netherlands to face the fees.
Appearing teary-eyed when requested about the opportunity of being arrested, lawmaker stated it was “the lowest point of my life.”
“I will face it, as long as they follow the proper process. If there is a legitimate warrant of arrest, they should bring it before the local court. Let’s discuss it, and we will face it,” he stated on Tuesday.
He reiterated his place that the ICC has no jurisdiction to arrest him with out approval from the native Supreme Court.
Such circumvention of due course of is what Duterte and Dela Rosa stand accused of.
The police officer rose to fame thanks to his shut relationship with the strongman chief, who dominated the Philippines with an iron fist from 2016 to 2022, a interval marked by the brutal struggle on medication.
Dela Rosa, who goes by the moniker “Bato” which interprets to “Rock,” hails from the Davao area in southern Philippines and has lengthy been a loyal sidekick of Duterte.
He served as police chief when Duterte was mayor of Davao City, the place police would allegedly coerce low-level sellers to give up themselves then execute them, a tactic referred to as “oplan tokhang.”
For greater than 20 years, the anti-drug operation was enacted throughout Davao. Extrajudicial killings unfold throughout the nation when Duterte grew to become president and Dela Rosa ascended the higher echelons of the nationwide police pressure, in accordance to Human Rights Watch.
The ICC arrest warrant alleges that Dela Rosa used his place as nationwide police chief to implement “tokhang”-style killings nationally throughout Duterte’s presidency, allegations which he has repeatedly denied.
In an interview with NCS in 2016, Dela Rosa stated that police officers kill suspected drug sellers “if it endangers our lives.”
When requested how he felt about seeing our bodies of alleged drug sellers killed and deserted on the sidewalk, he stated: “Mixed emotions. I pity the guy for losing his life. At the same time I see it as one less pusher, one less pusher. Minus one.”
Former Philippine ‘drug war’ police chief spoke with NCS in 2016.
More than 6,000 folks had been killed in anti-drug operations after Duterte took workplace, in accordance to police knowledge. Many of the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug offenders occurred within the poorest areas of the nation – and unbiased screens consider the variety of these killed may very well be a lot increased.
Duterte himself was dramatically arrested at Manila’s worldwide airport in March 2025 and was placed on a airplane to The Hague, the place he stays in ICC custody. A begin date for his trial has not but been set.
Duterte has lengthy denied the accusations of human rights abuses and contends that drug points ought to be settled by home regulation enforcement. He has repeatedly stated he won’t kowtow to the international jurisdiction of the ICC.
The Philippines was a signatory to the ICC, however Duterte canceled its membership after the courtroom started probing his drug struggle. However, underneath the ICC’s withdrawal mechanism, the courtroom retains jurisdiction over crimes dedicated throughout the membership – on this case, between 2016 and 2019, when the Philippines’ pullout grew to become official.
As hypothesis swirled for months that an ICC warrant was on the best way, Dela Rosa had not appeared in public.
But he appeared in public for the primary time on Monday on the Senate seemingly to take part within the newest episode in a long-running saga between President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Vice President Sara Duterte, the daughter of Rodrigo Duterte.
Two issues occurred on Monday. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach the vp on a variety of accusations that embrace misusing public funds, accumulating unexplained wealth and plotting to assassinate the president. She now awaits trial on the Senate; in the event that they kick her out, it can finish her presidential run for 2028.
To assist the Duterte clan’s political survival, Dela Rosa and different senators voted to oust the chamber’s president, putting in Duterte ally Alan Peter Cayetano to lead the Senate.
Not lengthy after the vote, Dela Rosa was positioned underneath “protective custody,” in accordance to government-run Philippine News Agency, successfully shielding him from the specter of arrest.
By Wednesday, it remained to be seen whether or not authorities would proceed to pursue Dela Rosa.
Ritz Lee Santos III, govt director of Amnesty International Philippines, stated the government ought to “immediately arrest” Dela Rosa following the problem of the arrest warrant, to face prices together with Duterte.
“Dela Rosa held a key role in the implementation of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ under the administration of former President Duterte, responsible for command and direction over the police,” Santos stated in a statement.
“Dela Rosa’s current position as Senator should not shield him from facing charges at the ICC. It is imperative that regardless of politics, the process of justice prevails.”