Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa walked back into the Senate plenary session on Monday carrying injuries to his hand — and a fresh accusation against the National Bureau of Investigation.
Dela Rosa, visibly agitated, told reporters he was forced to physically push his way through NBI agents who he said had barred him from reaching the plenary floor. He displayed a bleeding hand as evidence of the scuffle, which was later attended to by Senate medical staff.
“A sitting President hinaharang, hindi papasukin sa sesyon,” he said, accusing the Marcos administration of being behind the alleged attempt to stop him from voting.
Dela Rosa’s return coincided with a dramatic leadership overhaul inside the chamber, in which 13 senators voted to declare all Senate leadership positions vacant, ousting Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and paving the way for the election of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate president. Nine senators voted to retain Sotto, while Cayetano and Sotto themselves abstained.
Cayetano, in his remarks before the vote, explicitly named Dela Rosa as one of the 13 senators backing the change, saying, “Senator Bato dela Rosa is in the building and will be here in a minute.”
The leadership shakeup unfolded on the same day the House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte. Sotto had publicly committed to convening the Senate as an impeachment court immediately upon receiving those articles.
Monday’s session was Dela Rosa’s first in six months. He had not appeared in the chamber since November 11, 2025, after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla claimed that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant against him — though the Department of Justice said it was still verifying that information. The ICC itself clarified as recently as May 9 that no public arrest warrants had been issued in relation to the Philippines case, with ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet stating, “No public arrest warrants have been issued.”
Separately, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group served a subpoena on Dela Rosa on Monday at his Senate office and residence, directing him to appear before investigators at Camp Crame on May 14 at 10 a.m. in connection with alleged extrajudicial killings during his time as Davao City police chief from January 2012 to October 2013. CIDG chief Major General Robert Morico II signed the order.
