According to the Associated Press, the warrant against dela Rosa — which judges had kept sealed since November before making it public earlier this month — accuses him of the crime against humanity of murder, naming at least 32 victims in killings that prosecutors say took place from July 2016 through late April 2018. In the warrant, ICC judges characterized dela Rosa as an "indirect co-perpetrator" and concluded he "made essential contributions to committing the alleged crime" of murder.
As Duterte's inaugural national police chief, dela Rosa, 64, oversaw the rollout of an anti-narcotics campaign that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, the majority of them low-level drug suspects. He has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings and has said he is willing to face allegations only before Philippine courts.
The sequence of events leading to his disappearance began when National Bureau of Investigation agents moved to execute the arrest warrant; dela Rosa bolted from them, racing up staircases and into the Senate's plenary chamber, where fellow senators shielded him from arrest and placed him under their protection. According to the Los Angeles Times, the crisis deepened when Senate security guards opened fire on a government agent late Wednesday night, with the resulting disorder appearing to give dela Rosa the cover he needed to slip away undetected. No one was reported hurt.
At a news briefing, Senate President Alan Cayetano rejected accusations of wrongdoing, saying no valid ICC arrest warrant had been presented to him and that dela Rosa had been at liberty to leave, according to the AP. Critics called on Cayetano and the Senate's security chief to be held responsible for the escape.
The Philippine Supreme Court ruled against dela Rosa's petition to block the arrest warrant, according to The Times.
Facing charges from the ICC that closely mirror those brought against dela Rosa, Duterte was taken into custody at Manila's airport in March 2025 and flown to the Netherlands, where he has remained in ICC detention ever since. The death toll from Duterte's so-called war on drugs is estimated in the tens of thousands, according to The Times. Duterte denies the charges.
