Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte responded to the Senate turmoil surrounding Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s ICC arrest warrant with a sardonic quip — acknowledging both grief and dark humor at the prospect of his father gaining a companion in The Hague.
“Nalungkot ako. At the same time, medyo masaya rin kasi may kasama na ‘yung tatay ko doon, if ever that will happen. It’s a bad joke,” the mayor said, commenting on the Senate chaos that erupted after authorities moved to execute the international court’s arrest order against dela Rosa.
Baste was reacting to a dramatic sequence of events that began May 11, when the ICC unsealed a warrant against dela Rosa — initially issued under seal in November 2025 — charging the former Philippine National Police chief with crimes against humanity tied to killings during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign. The warrant alleges that dela Rosa was liable as a co-perpetrator in the killing of at least 32 people between July 2016 and April 2018.
Dela Rosa had vanished from public life following rumors of an impending warrant in November, but resurfaced on May 11 to cast what was intended to be a deciding vote in a Senate leadership contest favoring a Duterte ally. Arriving at the chamber, he found National Bureau of Investigation agents waiting, and local media footage showed him fleeing through the corridors.
Two days later, the Senate was shaken by more than a dozen gunshots as armed soldiers charged up the stairs of the legislative building in an attempt to detain him. Dela Rosa’s whereabouts have since remained unknown.
The younger Duterte’s remarks carry particular weight given where his father now sits. Rodrigo Duterte has been held in ICC custody in The Hague since March 2025, also on charges of crimes against humanity, with the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I unanimously confirming all charges against him on April 23, 2026, committing him to trial.
The Philippine Supreme Court has since refused to block dela Rosa’s arrest, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s spokeswoman Claire Castro telling reporters that the warrant against the senator is valid. Dela Rosa has maintained that the ICC lacks authority to execute a warrant against him without clearance from a local court.
