Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Zen Hernandez

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA <strong>(4TH UPDATE)</strong> - The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday confirmed that it has issued an arrest warrant against former Philippine police chief and current senator Ronald dela Rosa.</p><p>&quot;The document published by national authorities of the Republic of the Philippines and circulated in media is indeed a formal ICC document,&quot; the ICC said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;This arrest warrant against Mr Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa was issued confidentially, under seal, by Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC on 6 November 2025,&quot; it added.</p><p>The ICC also unsealed the <a href="https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/CourtRecords/0902ebd180cf5d77.pdf">arrest warrant.</a></p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B9xDUYmRgPo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 identified Dela Rosa &quot;as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator pursuant to article 25(3)(a) of the Statute for the crimes against humanity within the Court’s jurisdiction of murder and attempted murder(articles 7(1)(a) and 23(3)(f) of the Statute), committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019.&quot;</p><p>The period covers alleged summary killings while former President Rodrigo Duterte was Davao City mayor and during the government&#x27;s &quot;war on drugs&quot; while he was president. Dela Rosa served as Davao City police chief, and later Philippine National Police chief under Duterte.</p><p>&quot;As the alleged common plan to ‘neutralise’ alleged criminals in the Philippines concerns the period between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019, 17 and the alleged murders considered below were committed between 3 July 2016 and the end of April 2018, on the territory of the Philippines, this conduct falls within the Court’s jurisdiction,&quot; the chamber said, referring to the period while the Philippines was still signatory of the Rome Statute that founded the ICC.</p><p>&quot;The Chamber finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe Mr Dela Rosa has committed the crime against humanity of murder,&quot; the warrant stated.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;REASONABLE GROUNDS&#x27;</strong></div><p>The ICC Office of the Prosecutor, in a statement Monday, said it welcomes the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I to unseal the warrant of arrest agains Dela Rosa.</p><p>&quot;The warrant of arrest, which has been conveyed to the relevant authorities in the Republic of the Philippines, was originally issued as secret on 6 November 2025, following an application by the Office on 3 November 2025, but has only now become public, following changes in the circumstances,&quot; it said.</p><p>&quot;Based on evidence presented by the OTP, the Chamber found there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Dela Rosa, a former Davao City Police Director and subsequently chief of the Philippine National Police (“PNP”),  is responsible for the crime against humanity of murder (article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute), through his involvement in a common plan that lasted from approximately 1 November 2011 until 16 March 2019 to kill alleged victims in the Philippines,&quot; it added.</p><p>&quot;The Chamber expressly noted that these murders are a sample that represent a potentially broader pattern of conduct and the OTP may seek to add further alleged criminal incidents at a later stage,&quot; the Prosecutor said.</p><p>It said that Dela Rosa’s warrant of arrest &quot;is an important step in the Office’s ongoing pursuit of accountability for alleged crimes committed in the context of the so-called &#x27;war on drugs&#x27; campaign in the Philippines.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The Office will continue to work closely with the Registry and all relevant stakeholders to facilitate the execution of the warrant,&quot; the Prosecutor said.</p><p>It also renewed its call for direct witnesses to alleged crimes committed in the context of the so-called “war on drugs” campaign, in particular former and present members of the PNP, to come forward and provide information via the Office’s Witness Appeal portal.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/duterte-at-the-icc">Duterte at ICC: Latest News and Updates</a></div><p>Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV earlier in the day claimed to have a copy of the ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.</p><p>Trillanes showed reporters a copy of the arrest warrant, which he said was issued in November 2025, and was transmitted to the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) onh Monday after Dela Rosa surfaced. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/11/trillanes-claims-to-have-copy-of-icc-warrant-vs-bato-dela-rosa-1646">Trillanes claims to have copy of ICC warrant vs. Bato dela Rosa</a></div><p>Trillanes also said Dela Rosa can be arrested inside the Senate, even if it is in session, similar to what was done to him in 2018. </p><p>In a social media post, ICC Assistant Counsel Maria Kristina Conti said that the Rome Statute includes &quot;a provision that official capacity and immunities that come with it are irrelevant when it comes to criminal responsibility before the International Criminal Court (ICC).&quot;</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02tj7Qay5o5Bhw8GQAJaMzotnVcCKGHVaUyKxMjs3V7B93kmkiDKE2v7qqTM3SPnGSl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="582" style="border-width:medium;border-style:none;border-color:currentcolor;border-image:initial;overflow:hidden;--darkreader-inline-border-top:0px;--darkreader-inline-border-right:0px;--darkreader-inline-border-bottom:0px;--darkreader-inline-border-left:0px" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" data-darkreader-inline-border-top="" data-darkreader-inline-border-right="" data-darkreader-inline-border-bottom="" data-darkreader-inline-border-left=""></iframe></div><p>She posted Article 27 of the Rome Statute, which stated that it &quot;shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person,&quot; it also said. </p><p>In November 2025, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla claimed to have seen an ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa, who is seen as the chief implementer of the Duterte administration&#x27;s bloody war on drugs. </p><p>Dela Rosa returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time since the Ombudsman&#x27;s claim. <em>-- with reports from Victoria Tulad and Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News</em></p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/11/bato-dela-rosa-returns-to-senate-after-months-long-absence-1522">Bato dela Rosa returns to Senate after months-long absence</a></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/11/bato-dela-rosa-returns-to-senate-after-months-long-absence-1522"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bh_RtAhZgj0??si=DdvEIvykDUWYIpvX&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></a><br/></div>

<p>The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday confirmed that it has issued an arrest warrant against former Philippine police chief and current senator Ronald dela Rosa.</p>

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday confirmed that it has issued an arrest warrant against former Philippine police chief and current senator Ronald dela Rosa.

ICC confirms arrest warrant against Dela Rosa

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ICC confirms arrest warrant against Dela Rosa

Jojo Pasion Malig,

Zen Hernandez,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 11, 2026 09:11 PM PHT

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Updated May 12, 2026 01:57 AM PHT

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Ronald dela Rosa

ICC

war on drugs

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