The National Bureau of Investigation has formally asked the Philippine National Police to cancel all firearm licenses registered under the name of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, citing his status as a subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant as legal grounds for the revocation.
In a letter dated May 25 addressed to PNP Chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., NBI Director Melvin Matibag called on the PNP’s Civil Security Group — specifically its Firearms and Explosives Office — to immediately cancel dela Rosa’s licenses and move to confiscate or secure his 118 registered firearms.
Matibag framed the cancellation not as an administrative choice but as a statutory obligation.
“The issuance of a warrant of arrest by the ICC is a formal judicial determination by a Pre-Trial Chamber — composed of three international judges — that there exist reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Dela Rosa bears criminal responsibility for the offenses charged,” he wrote.
“This determination satisfies and in fact exceeds the ‘accused in a pending criminal case’ threshold under Section 4(g) [of the Republic Act No. 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act]. His license is therefore void as a matter of law, and its cancellation is not a matter of administrative discretion but a legal obligation of the FEO,” he added.
The weapons listed under dela Rosa’s name span multiple categories. Speaking in Filipino, Matibag described the inventory as varied: “I saw the list. It’s mixed. There are automatic rifles, and there are sidearms. It’s really mixed, different types. There are high-powered guns. There are shotguns.” All 118 firearms are registered in Davao, he said.
Should the PNP act on the NBI’s request, any continued possession of the weapons by dela Rosa would become illegal and subject to confiscation. Matibag had previously described the senator as “armed and dangerous” under existing protocols given the outstanding ICC warrant.
“So because he is now considered a fugitive from justice, my personal position is that it should be canceled,” the NBI chief said.
The NBI and PNP are currently coordinating efforts to locate and eventually arrest dela Rosa. The Supreme Court earlier denied his petition for a temporary restraining order that sought to block local agencies from acting on ICC warrants without a separate Philippine court order — a ruling that effectively cleared the path for domestic law enforcement to move on such cases.
Dela Rosa served as PNP chief from 2016 to 2018, the period covered by the ICC investigation into the Duterte administration’s drug war, which is estimated to have claimed between 12,000 and 30,000 lives.
