A Philippine senator who led the \u201cwar on drugs\u201d during former\nPresident Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s administration sought shelter inside the\ncountry\u2019s Senate building hours before the International Criminal Court\n(ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him.<\/p>\n
Ronald \u2018Bato\u2019 dela Rosa was seen running into the Senate building on\nMonday (11\/05) as authorities pursued him. The figure, who received an\naward from the Indonesian National Police (Polri) in 2018, escaped the\nchase and was placed under Senate protection.<\/p>\n
The Philippine police stated they would not arrest him while he\nremains under Senate supervision.<\/p>\n
Dela Rosa served as the former Chief of the Philippine National\nPolice (PNP) during the Duterte era. He is accused as a \u201cindirect\nperpetrator\u201d in the killings of at least 32 people between 2016 and 2018\nduring Duterte\u2019s anti-drug operations.<\/p>\n
During that period, thousands of suspected drug dealers were shot\ndead. The series of events has dragged former Philippine President\nRodrigo Duterte into ICC custody in The Hague, Netherlands, since March\n2025.<\/p>\n
Dela Rosa was seen climbing several flights of stairs and passing\nthrough a corridor shortly after arriving at the Senate building.<\/p>\n
Hours later, the head of the National Bureau of Investigation told\nreporters that they would not arrest dela Rosa while he is under Senate\nsupervision.<\/p>\n
Dela Rosa stated he would remain within the Senate complex and \u201cdo\neverything\u201d to avoid being taken to The Hague.<\/p>\n
His lawyer said they have petitioned the Supreme Court to quash the\narrest, arguing there is no valid warrant from a Philippine judicial\nbody.<\/p>\n
Bato dela Rosa served as the national police chief during Rodrigo\nDuterte\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n
While serving as Philippine police chief, Ronald \u2018Bato\u2019 dela Rosa\ncame under scrutiny, particularly for his handling of narcotics cases\nduring Rodrigo Duterte\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n
At that time, police were mandated by Rodrigo Duterte to shoot drug\noffenders dead. This was all done under the framework of the \u2018war on\ndrugs\u2019 campaign.<\/p>\n
The war on drugs, according to records from Philippine human rights\nactivists, has already killed at least 12,000 people. A 2018 Human\nRights Watch report stated that 4,000 of them were \u2018killed by Philippine\npolice\u2019 while the rest were by \u2018unknown persons\u2019.<\/p>\n
In addition to shooting addicts and drug dealers, Philippine\nauthorities were also accused of enforced disappearances and torture in\nthe war on drugs campaign.<\/p>\n
From various actions against drug offenders, police sometimes acted\nwrongly, followed by an apology from Police Chief General Ronald\n\u2018Bato\u2019.<\/p>\n
One of them was against the Mayor of Albuera, Rolando Espinosa, who\ndied in Baybay provincial prison in Leyte in November 2016. General\nRonald \u2018Bato\u2019 had previously apologised for the police action.<\/p>\n
For these \u2018arbitrary killings\u2019 or extrajudicial killings, human\nrights lawyers reported President Rodrigo Duterte along with General\nRonald \u2018Bato\u2019 to the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n
Tito Karnavian, who was then the police chief, said they received the\nTop Bhayangkara Star award.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe purpose of giving the award is to improve relations. Because\nthey are all our neighbours. We share borders with them,\u201d Tito said at\nthe National Human Rights Commission office in Jakarta on 15 February\n2018.<\/p>\n
Ronald \u2018Bato\u2019 himself expressed his appreciation for the highest\naward from the Indonesian police. In a circulating video, Ronald \u2018Bato\u2019\nexpressed his thanks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis award inspires me to put in more effort in our war against\nnarcotics and illegal drugs,\u201d said Ronald \u2018Bato\u2019.<\/p>\n
The feud between the Philippine political dynasties Duterte and\nMarcos<\/p>\n
This incident occurred when 24 Senate members, dominated by Duterte\nallies, elected a new Senate President on Monday (11\/05).<\/p>\n
The new Senate President, Alan Peter Cayetano, told reporters that\nthe institution would only act if there is an arrest warrant from a\nPhilippine court.<\/p>\n
Separately, Marcos allies who control the House of Representatives on\nthe same day voted to impeach Duterte\u2019s daughter, Sara, who currently\nserves as vice president, for the second time.<\/p>\n
The feud between the Duterte and Marcos dynasties worsened after the\ncollapse of the alliance between the two families following the 2022\nelection.<\/p>\n
Sara Duterte is the frontrunner to replace President Marcos in the\nnext election two years from now. Sara accused Marcos of using the ICC\narrest warrant and her impeachment as political weapons to weaken her\ncampaign.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, Sara\u2019s father, Rodrigo Duterte, acknowledged the\nICC process. The reason is that during his presidency in 2019, the\nPhilippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, which is the basis for ICC\nmembership.<\/p>\n
However, last month, judges at the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber rejected\nthat argument on the grounds that the alleged crimes occurred between\n2011 and 2019 when the Philippines was still an ICC member, so Duterte\ncan be tried.<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Virma Simonette<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/former-philippine-police-chief-flees-icc-arrest-1778575921", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }