Philippines pledges to hand over fugitive senator to ICC following shooting | Political Affairs

Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa wanted him to serve as the head of former President Duterte’s deadly drug war.

The Philippines has pledged to comply with a request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to detain a prominent politician who evaded arrest earlier this week. he ran away The Senate despite the fact that the military tried to arrest him and it was heard that shots were fired.

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said on Friday that Manila has received a court-ordered arrest warrant for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the country’s former police chief, and considers it valid.

The ICC released an indictment on Monday against dela Rosa, 64, on charges of crimes against humanity. A former police chief presided Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, where thousands of people were brutally killed.

“We will submit to the request of the ICC,” Vida told reporters, adding that officials are waiting for the Philippine Supreme Court to rule out the Senate’s appeal against its constitution.

Senate shooting

News of the upcoming ICC sanction in November saw dela Rosa missing from the public. However, he appeared on Monday, as he sought to vote in a presidential race that would have given power to Duterte’s ally.

Finding the police waiting for him, the chief of police – who has denied involvement in the murders, which took place in 2016 – 2019, strengthened himself in the Senate.

Two days later, the Senate was shaken than firing a gun when armed soldiers climbed the steps of the parliament building to try to arrest him.

It was not immediately clear who fired the shots, but as of Thursday, the Senate President confirmed that dela Rosa was no longer in the building.

Since the senator’s whereabouts are unknown, Vida warned that any attempt to help dela Rosa leave the country could be seen as “a travesty of justice”.

Border officials have been told that “if Senator Bato Dela Rosa tries to leave the country, he will be arrested accordingly,” the secretary added.

Crimes against drugs

Dela Rosa is facing charges similar to those against Duterte, who has been in office it happened in the hands of the ICC in The Hague from March 2025.

From 2016 to 2019, the former president’s “war on drugs” killed between 12,000 and 30,000 people, according to the ICC.

The fugitive senator was named as one of eight people involved in the case and is accused of being the leader of Duterte.

In an interview on Thursday, dela Rosa pledged to “exhaust all available means” to block his extradition to the ICC.