By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
After a series of events unfolded at the Senate late Monday, which included the election of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as new Senate President and the reappearance of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa after a nearly 6-month absence, former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV shared with the media his copy of the ICC’s arrest warrant against Sen. dela Rosa.
Prior to the nominal voting, the former PNP chief erupted in anger after National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives attempted to stop him from entering the plenary hall, citing the PNP-CIDG’s issuance of a subpoena calling on Senator dela Rosa to testify or produce documentary evidence in support of the investigation on EJK cases in Davao during his tenure as the police chief there, and during his time managing the police force under the Duterte administration.
Trillanes’ disclosure of the arrest warrant against the embattled lawmaker is welcomed by the International Criminal Court (ICC), as the tribunal confirmed that this document was confidentially shared with Philippine authorities on November 6, 2025.
This date comes a few days before Senator dela Rosa went on a prolonged absence from the Senate citing earlier unverified rumors of an arrest warrant against him, which began on November 11, 2025 and ended on Monday.
The ICC said in a statement, “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 (PNP), is responsible for the crime against humanity of murder (article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute), through his involvement in a common plan that lasted from approximately 1 November 2011 until 16 March 2019 to kill alleged victims in the Philippines.
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.”
The high court noted that the timing of making the arrest warrant known to the citizenry and the media comes at a crucial time as it has monitored a change in the circumstances regarding recent developments in the Philippine political landscape.
ICC concluded by noting the significance of this endeavor in upholding accountability for alleged crimes committed under the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, and sustaining the momentum of the crimes against humanity and murder charges being faced by former President Rodrigo Duterte in the global tribunal.
As of press time, Senator dela Rosa remains under protective custody in the Senate on the heels of a brief lockdown enforced within the premises to de-escalate yesterday’s situation. (with report from RR Tubice | PTV News)
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