Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa broke a months-long absence from the Senate on Monday, only to find himself at the center of a chaotic arrest attempt that ended with him placed under the upper chamber’s protective custody.
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV arrived at the Senate alongside National Bureau of Investigation personnel, presenting what he described as a copy of an ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa — adding that his presence there was at the senator’s own personal request. Dela Rosa claimed he had to physically resist those attempting to detain him, and later appeared on the Senate floor with an injured finger he said resulted from the altercation.
DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla was swift to dispute the legitimacy of the purported warrant. “There is no official warrant that we are in possession of. Please ask him (Trillanes) if the warrant has been legally served. As far as I know, he’s not part of the PCTC,” Remulla told reporters.
The Department of Justice separately confirmed it had not received or seen any copy of the alleged ICC arrest warrant, while PCTC Executive Director retired General Romeo Prestoza disclosed that his agency had likewise received nothing from the ICC.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta questioned why the NBI was involved at all, noting that international law enforcement coordination of this nature would ordinarily pass through the PCTC as the country’s Interpol counterpart. He also cited Article 59 of the Rome Statute, which requires that any person subject to an ICC warrant first be brought before a competent judicial authority to verify identity and ensure proper legal procedures were followed.
Dela Rosa’s legal team filed an urgent motion before the Supreme Court seeking a temporary restraining order against any arrest, detention, transfer, or surrender without a valid Philippine judicial warrant. The lawyers cited a series of government actions they described as a “coordinated, three-layered enforcement strategy,” including the reported preparation of a 10,000-man DILG task force and a CIDG subpoena requiring Dela Rosa’s appearance at Camp Crame on May 14.
Dela Rosa and Senator Christopher “Bong” Go have both been tagged in ICC proceedings as alleged co-perpetrators in cases linked to extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
