The ICC made public an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa on Monday, May 11, 2026, according to the ICC. The warrant was originally issued confidentially on November 6, 2025, and unsealed on May 11, 2026, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said. The ICC found reasonable grounds to believe Dela Rosa committed crimes against humanity (murder) under the Rome Statute, according to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I.
The alleged crimes occurred between July 3, 2016 and the end of April 2018, involving at least 32 killings, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I stated. Dela Rosa is accused as an 'indirect co-perpetrator' in Duterte's anti-drugs campaign, the ICC said. The killings were part of a 'common plan' allegedly agreed by Dela Rosa, former President Duterte, and other officials to 'neutralize' alleged criminals, meaning to kill, according to the ICC prosecution.
I will remain within the Senate premises and do everything to avoid being taken to The Hague.
The common plan began in Davao from at least November 1, 2011 through the Davao Death Squad and was rolled out nationwide starting Duterte's presidency in 2016, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I said. Dela Rosa made essential contributions to the alleged crime using his positions as DCPO Chief, PNP Chief, and Director General of the Bureau of Corrections, according to the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I. Dela Rosa was pictured fleeing into the Senate on Monday as officers chased after him, according to multiple reports.
He narrowly escaped and was placed under protective custody, sources said. Security camera footage showed NBI agents chasing Dela Rosa up stairs and a corridor in the Senate building, according to AFP. The Philippine National Police said they would not arrest Dela Rosa while he was in custody of the Senate, according to police.
Keep vigil in front of the Senate until the Supreme Court decides.
According to BBC, Dela Rosa described that he would remain within the Senate premises and do everything to avoid being taken to The Hague. He also urged supporters to keep vigil in front of the Senate until the Supreme Court decides, and called on President Marcos Jr. to file a local case against him if he believed him guilty, BBC reported.
Dela Rosa's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to block his arrest in the absence of a valid Philippine judicial warrant, according to multiple reports. The Senate elected a new president on Monday, Alan Peter Cayetano, who, according to BBC, described that the chamber would only act on arrest warrants from a Philippine court. Meanwhile, the lower House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice-President Sara Duterte for the second time.
If I have an obligation, I will answer it in the local court, not a foreign one.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte has been in ICC custody in The Hague since his arrest in March 2025. Duterte has refused to recognize ICC proceedings, arguing the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019.
The chamber would only act on arrest warrants from a Philippine court.