ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia

Philippine Supreme Court Rejects Fugitive Senator’s Challenge to ICC Arrest Warrant

The decision opens the way for the arrest for the senator, who is wanted by the ICC for his role in leading former President Rodrigo Duterte’s violence anti-drug campaign.

Philippine Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa takes part in a vote at the Senate in Manila, Philippines, May 11, 2026.

The Philippine Supreme Court yesterday rejected a bid by Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa for a temporary ‌restraining order to prevent his arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

On May 11, the ICC unsealed a warrant for Dela Rosa’s arrest, charging him with crimes against humanity for his role in leading former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs” campaign. Dela Rosa subsequently fled into his office in the Senate, before slipping out of the building before dawn ​on May 14.

The senator, whose current whereabouts are unknown, also filed three petitions to the Supreme ​Court, requesting that it stop authorities from arresting him and surrendering him to The Hague-based court.

In a 9-5-1 ruling handed down yesterday, the Supreme Court justices denied Dela Rosa’s petition for a temporary restraining order and status quo ante order, the court said in a statement. It clarified that the judges “only decided on the prayers for interim relief. The main issues raised by the parties in their pleadings and motions are yet to be resolved in the main case.” It added that the Supreme Court would release its full resolution, as well as the concurring and dissenting opinions of the 15 justices, on May 25.

Dela Rosa, who served as Philippine National Police chief for the first two years of Duterte’s presidential term, is wanted by the ICC for his prominent role in the anti-drug campaign, which raged throughout Duterte’s six years in office (2016-2022). Estimates of the number killed during the campaign range from an official estimate of around 6,000 to as many as 30,000.

If arrested, Dela Rosa would join his former boss, Duterte, who was arrested in March 2025 and extradited to the ICC for his role in the campaign. The 81-year-old is set to stand trial after a pretrial panel last month ruled that there were “substantial grounds” to believe that he was guilty of crimes against humanity.

The Supreme Court ruling clears the way for the potential arrest of Dela Rosa, whom the Office of the Solicitor General described last week as a “fugitive from justice.”

Speaking after yesterday’s ruling, Claire Castro, a spokesperson for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said that the presidential palace will leave it to the Department of Justice to interpret the Supreme Court’s ruling. Justice Minister Fredderick Vida said last week........

© The Diplomat