DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 May 2026) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday made public the warrant of arrest for Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ de la Rosa originally issued and sealed on November 6, 2025 as “secret.”
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I’s unsealing of the arrest warrant on Monday, May 11, came on the same day dela Rosa showed up at the Senate, exactly six months to the day he stopped attending sessions following reports he would be arrested.
According to Senate records, he has been absent from sessions since November 11, 2025. Exactly six months later, he showed up at the Senate to cast his vote for Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate President.
The 64-year old Dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under the Duterte administration, is facing charges of alleged crimes against humanity of murder between July 3, 2016 and the end of April 2018 “during which no less than 32 persons were killed” in the Philippines, the Pre-Trial Chamber, said.
The Chamber, composed of Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera – “assessed the material submitted by the Prosecution and found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Dela Rosa is allegedly criminally responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator” for the crime against humanity of murder.
The same Pre-Trial Chamber 1 concluded on April 23 that there are “substantial grounds” to believe that former President Rodrigo Duterte is responsible for crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, committed “as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population” in the Philippines between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019 when the Philippines was still a state-signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC.
Duterte is set to face trial before the ICC.
Dela Rosa, the Chamber said, is alleged to have been involved in a “common plan” to kill alleged criminals, including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production, between 1 November 2011 until 16 March 2019 when the Philippines was a state party to the Rome Statute.
A member of Class 1986 of the Philippine Military Academy, dela Rosa served as a police officer for at least three decades. He served various positions in the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Davao region until 30 June 2016, including as City Director of the Davao City Police Office from 1 February 2012 to 17 October 2013, and in the PNP Intelligence Group and Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development from November 2015 until his appointment as Chief of the PNP. Dela Rosa served as PNP chief from July 1, 2016 until April 19, 2018.
After the PNP, he served as Director-General of the Bureau of Corrections from April 30 to October 12, 2018, before filing his certificate of candidacy for Senator in the 2019 elections. Dela Rosa was re-elected to another six-year term in May 2022.
‘Secret’
On November 3, 2025, the Prosecution, under seal and ex parte, only available to the Prosecution, applied for a warrant of arrest for Dela Rosa as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator. The warrant was issued three days later, on November 6, 2025, according to the document marked “Secret, ex parte, only available to the Prosecution” and made public on May 11, 2026.
The Chamber said in the November 6, 2025 document that it found it appropriate to classify the document as ‘secret’ as it noted the Prosecution’s submissions “on the risk for victims and witnesses, as well as attempts, including by the suspect, to interfere with the investigation.”
“The Chamber finds reasonable grounds to believe that an ‘attack,’ within the meaning of article 7(1) of the Statute, was directed at a civilian population; initially pursuant to an organisational policy and later, when Rodrigo Roa Duterte (‘Mr Duterte’) became the President of the Philippines, a State policy,” it said.
It added that due to Dela Rosa’s role and positions during the time of the alleged attack, including as chief of the Davao City Police and subsequently as chief of the Philippine National Police, “he necessarily knew about the operations and their scope.”
“Indeed, the material before the Chamber shows that his contributions to the common plan furthered the widespread and systematic attack directed against all persons designated as involved in criminal activities, especially drug-related ones, and, based on his own public statements, that he intended his actions to be part of the alleged attack against the civilian population,” it said.
9 “essential contributions”
“Within the framework of this common plan, on the basis of the material provided, the Chamber finds reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Dela Rosa made essential contributions to committing the alleged crime,” the Chamber said.
The Chamber listed these nine “essential contributions.”
- Using his position as DCPO (Davao City Police Office) Chief to enable DDS (Davao Death Squad) killings and to conceive and implement a style of police operations referred to as ‘Tokhang’, in Davao City, and later implemented these operations nationally;
- Making public statements authorising, condoning and promoting the killing of alleged criminals;
- Promulgating the Command Memorandum Circular No. 16-2016, setting out the PNP anti-illegal drugs campaign plan, and reinforcing the message that its implementation entailed the commission of crimes, including unlawful killings;
- Using his power over the PNP to enable killings, including through the provision to the relevant enforcement entities of personnel and other logistical resources such as weapons to the crimes;
- Appointing key personnel to strategic police positions in order to further the execution of the common plan;
- Transferring police perpetrators from the Davao region to use them in other priority regions;
- Encouraging the police to legitimise killings through fictitious self-defence scenarios and promising impunity;
- Ordering the police to kill specific targets and planning killing operations; and
- Expressing approval and rewarding perpetrators of killings.
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) attempted to arrest dela Rosa in the Senate but were later held in contempt. Senate President Cayetano directed the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms to put them under Senate custody and detain them in the Senate premises. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
