Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Marilyn Cahatol

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177881104390720260513-senate-pro-impeachment-protest-JC1682.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Protesters gather outside the Philippine Senate in Pasay City on May 13, 2026, calling for the immediate arrest of Senator Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa. The International Criminal Court recently confirmed the issuance of an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa—originally issued under seal in November 2025—as an &quot;indirect co-perpetrator&quot; in killings related to the Duterte administration&#x27;s anti-drug campaign.<em> Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s stay at the Senate was &quot;not a detention,&quot; as the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is “not valid,” PDP national spokesperson Raul Lambino said Friday.</p><p>“Last Monday, he made a decision to go to the Senate and sought protective custody. So let&#x27;s make a big difference between protection and detention. So his stay in the Senate was not considered a detention,” Lambino told ANC’s Headstart. </p><p>“He was not restrained of his liberty. He was a free man, and he is a free man, because we have been saying that the arrest warrant, if one was already issued by the ICC, is not valid,” he added. </p><p>Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed that <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/14/bato-has-left-senate-premises-1107">Dela Rosa left the Senate premises</a> at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, despite being under protective custody following<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/13/bato-dela-rosa-now-officially-included-in-icc-s-wanted-persons-list-1721"> ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant. </a></p><p>Dela Rosa left the upper chamber hours after gunshots were heard inside the premises, which some alleged was used as a “diversion tactic” to cover his “escape.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/14/lawyer-denies-diversion-allegation-as-bato-remains-inside-senate-0704">Dela Rosa legal counsel denies &#x27;diversion&#x27; allegation as senator remains inside the Senate</a></div><p>The arrest warrant identified the senator as among the co-perpetrators of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity, stemming from the thousands of deaths recorded during the war on drugs campaign. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;HIS LIFE IN IN DANGER&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Lambino stressed that the ICC warrant is invalid without a local court order.</p><p>“It cannot be used as basis for our law enforcement agencies, because what is needed is an arrest warrant to be issued by our regular courts,” he said. </p><p>The party further maintained that “there is no case filed against Senator Dela Rosa,” but the senator “cannot be denied of his right to seek protection.”</p><p>“You cannot blame him. His life is in danger. His liberty is also in danger. And so he has to leave the premises,” he said. </p><p>There is still no available information on Dela Rosa’s whereabouts. </p><p>Lawyer Israelito Torreon earlier said they cannot comment on where the senator is.</p><div> </div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vSUo3ey9s8Q?si=aQaKWsxuBqpLC-l3" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s stay at the Senate was "not a detention," as the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is “not valid,” PDP National Spokesperson Atty. Raul Lambino said Friday.</p>

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s stay at the Senate was "not a detention," as the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is “not valid,” PDP National Spokesperson Atty. Raul Lambino said Friday.

‘He is a free man’: Bato’s stay at Senate ‘not detention,’ ICC warrant 'invalid'—PDP

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‘He is a free man’: Bato’s stay at Senate ‘not detention,’ ICC warrant 'invalid'—PDP

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 15, 2026 10:15 AM PHT

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Updated May 15, 2026 10:18 AM PHT

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Bato Dela Rosa

ICC

arrest warrant

Senate

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