Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa invoked divine intervention after narrowly avoiding arrest by National Bureau of Investigation agents inside the Senate of the Philippines on Monday, May 11 — the same day the International Criminal Court confirmed that a sealed arrest warrant had been issued against him.
“Despite the fact na grabe yung preparasyon nila para hulihin ako, nalusutan pa rin natin sila dahil nandiyan si Lord,” dela Rosa told supporters via video call during their gathering outside the Senate building. Loosely translated, the statement means: “Despite how intense their preparations were to catch me, we still managed to escape them because the Lord was there.”
The dramatic scene unfolded after Dela Rosa ended months of hiding, reappearing at a Senate plenary session to cast a vote that ousted Senate President Vicente Sotto III and installed Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano in his place. The senator had been in hiding since November 2025, when the existence of the ICC warrant was first made public by then-Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
Closed-circuit television footage shown to the plenary captured NBI agents in civilian attire chasing Dela Rosa through Senate hallways, with the senator visibly shaken and nursing an injured left hand upon reaching the session hall. Senate President Cayetano subsequently cited the NBI agents in contempt and ordered them placed under Senate custody.
Later that evening, the ICC confirmed that the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa is a formal court document, issued confidentially under seal by Pre-Trial Chamber I on November 6, 2025. The warrant holds Dela Rosa allegedly liable as an indirect co-perpetrator for crimes committed between July 2, 2016 and the end of April 2018, during which at least 32 people were killed.
ICC prosecutors identified Dela Rosa as a co-perpetrator of former President Rodrigo Duterte, now detained at The Hague to face trial for crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s war on drugs, during which thousands of suspects were killed. As PNP chief, Dela Rosa was the principal implementer of Oplan Tokhang, the anti-drug campaign’s flagship police operation.
The NBI acknowledged the Senate’s decision to place Dela Rosa under protective custody, with NBI Director Melvin Matibag saying the senator would not be arrested for the time being while the investigation continues. Dela Rosa has also appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for protection, saying, “I’m your constituent.”
Dela Rosa took to Facebook to appeal to supporters during a livestream, saying: “They want to fly me to The Hague, to be surrendered there. So please support me.”
