The National Bureau of Investigation has committed to carrying out the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa without delay, following a Department of Justice directive and the Supreme Court’s denial of the senator’s last legal bid for protection from an International Criminal Court warrant.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the agency will implement Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida’s order to serve the ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa, framing it as a matter of duty. “The order is to arrest Senator Dela Rosa, so we’ll do so without delay,” Matibag said. He added that the arrest would be carried out “professionally, as we always do,” and that Dela Rosa “will be arrested whether he likes it or not because we have to implement the law without fear or favor.”
The ICC unsealed the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa on May 11, 2026. It had originally been issued under seal on November 6, 2025. The warrant, issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I, charges Dela Rosa as an indirect co-perpetrator of the crime against humanity of murder, covering at least 32 killings between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, in connection with the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa had disappeared from public view for months before resurfacing on May 11 to cast the decisive 13th vote installing Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president. He was subsequently placed under the Senate’s protective custody after NBI agents attempted to intercept him.
On May 20, the Supreme Court, voting 9-5-1 in a special en banc session, denied Dela Rosa’s plea for a temporary restraining order and status quo ante order to prevent government agencies from enforcing the ICC warrant. The high court noted that the main constitutional questions raised by the petition remain unresolved and will be taken up separately.
Following the SC ruling, DOJ Secretary Vida issued a directive to all law enforcement agencies — including the PNP and NBI — to effect Dela Rosa’s arrest. He cited four grounds: the validity of the ICC warrant, confirmation that Dela Rosa had left the Senate premises where he had been held under protective custody, the SC’s denial of interim relief, and the general enforceability of the ICC warrant.
The Bureau of Immigration reported no record of Dela Rosa traveling abroad. Authorities have been ordered to intensify monitoring of all exit points, including southern backdoor routes. Matibag warned that fleeing would be futile, noting that 122 countries are committed to enforcing ICC warrants.
The NBI also addressed the fallout from a May 13 shooting incident at the Senate during an earlier attempt to serve the warrant. Matibag said the agency has extended full cooperation to the DOJ fact-finding panel and has given the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group access to all video recordings, radio communications, and other relevant materials from the period of May 11 to 13.
