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Janvic Mateo - The Philippine Star
May 13, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — With the confirmation of the arrest warrant issued against him, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa is now formally considered a suspect in the crimes against humanity case filed before the International Criminal Court.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) described Dela Rosa as “a suspect in the Situation in the Philippines” in its statement welcoming the decision to unseal the arrest warrant against the senator.
“Mr. Dela Rosa’s warrant of arrest is an important step in the Office’s ongoing pursuit of accountability for alleged crimes committed in the context of the so-called ‘war on drugs’ campaign in the Philippines,” it said.
“The Office will continue to work closely with the Registry and all relevant stakeholders to facilitate the execution of the warrant,” it added.
According to the OTP, the “secret” arrest warrant was issued on Nov. 6 last year, three days after the request was filed.
“Based on evidence presented by the OTP, the Chamber found there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Dela Rosa, a former Davao City police director and subsequently chief of the Philippine National Police, is responsible for the crime against humanity of murder,” it said.
“The Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Dela Rosa is responsible, jointly with other co-perpetrators, including former president Duterte, for murders in the Philippines, between at least 3 July 2016 until the end of April 2018,” it added.
The prosecutor’s office said the arrest warrant was conveyed to relevant Philippine authorities after its issuance, contrary to denials of several Marcos administration officials.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I ordered the warrant’s reclassification to “public” on Monday after former senator Antonio Trillanes IV released a copy of the confidential document to the media.
Dela Rosa is facing charges of crimes against humanity over the killings of at least 32 individuals.
‘Alive’ and enforceable
In an interview over True FM, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the ICC arrest warrant on Dela Rosa dated Nov. 6, 2025 remains “alive” and enforceable.
“We really have an arrest warrant issued by the ICC. Upon validation with the PCTC, the warrant is binding, so we will enforce the warrant,” Matibag said in Filipino. PCTC refers to Philippine Center on Transnational Crime.
Matibag said around 40 NBI agents were deployed at the Senate on Monday after coordination with Senate officials and security personnel.
“Any reasonable mind would not believe that NBI agents would enter the Senate without coordination,” he said.
Matibag said the NBI agents had to withdraw after the new Senate leadership placed Dela Rosa under the chamber’s protective custody.
He also made it clear that Trillanes was not part of the NBI operation.
Bato’s lawyer hopeful
Dela Rosa’s lawyer Israelito Torreon, meanwhile, said he remains hopeful the Supreme Court will stop the arrest of his client by the ICC.
In an interview over “Storycon” on One News, Torreon said he remains “hopeful,” but not very optimistic, that the SC would grant the judicial relief sought by the senator.
“I am hopeful that it will be granted. But to say that I am optimistic would be too much because it might be misinterpreted as some sort of imposition on the Supreme Court,” he said.
“We are hoping against hope, on bended knees, that the Supreme Court would act on our urgent prayers because there is a clear violation of the Constitution,” Torreon said.
He argued that Dela Rosa cannot be arrested and surrendered to the ICC without going through Philippine courts.
“That ICC warrant should first be converted into a local warrant. It should pass through local courts,” he said in Filipino. – Mark Ernest Villeza, Bella Cariaso
