ICC Reveals Arrest Warrant for Philippine Senator Involved in Duterte's Drug War, Accused of Crimes Against Humanity

(Central News Agency reporter Lin Hang-chien, Manila, 12th) The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, publicly disclosed the contents of an arrest warrant issued for former Philippine police chief and current Senator Ronald Dela Rosa late last night, accusing him of committing "crimes against humanity" during the controversial "war on drugs."

A former Philippine senator first revealed Dela Rosa's (Ronald Dela Rosa) arrest warrant to the media yesterday. Following the exposure of the news, the ICC officially published the contents of the arrest warrant on its website late last night.

The ICC explained that the Pre-Trial Chamber had originally issued the arrest warrant secretly on November 6, 2025, but decided to declassify the document due to "changed circumstances."

Dela Rosa suddenly disappeared in November 2025 and only reappeared yesterday to vote in the Senate's election for a new president, where the Senate granted him protection based on the constitution and sovereign immunity. The election of the Senate president is crucial for the future direction of the impeachment case against current Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of Duterte.

According to the ICC, prosecutors have "reasonable grounds" to believe that Dela Rosa, as an "indirect co-perpetrator," participated in the "war on drugs" during former President Rodrigo Duterte's tenure as mayor of Davao City and president of the Philippines, committing "crimes against humanity."

Duterte vigorously promoted the war on drugs during his terms as Davao mayor and Philippine president. During this period, Dela Rosa successively served as Davao City Police Chief, Philippine National Police Chief, and Director of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor, i.e., prison administration).

Human rights groups accuse thousands of people of being subjected to "extrajudicial killings" during the anti-drug operations, leading to Duterte being sued at the ICC after his term ended. In March 2025, Duterte was arrested by Philippine police at Manila International Airport with an ICC arrest warrant and brought to the ICC for trial.

Despite this, Duterte was re-elected as mayor of Davao in the May 2025 midterm elections, while Dela Rosa had already successfully run for senator in 2019 and was re-elected in May 2025 with the third-highest number of votes, with a legal term until 2031. (Editor: Chen Hui-ping) 1150512

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