"The arrest warrant for Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa was secretly issued and sealed by ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I on 6/11/2025. The ICC is currently undertaking procedures to make this warrant public", the International Criminal Court (ICC) stated today.

Dela Rosa faces charges of crimes against humanity for overseeing the war on drugs launched by former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte and implementing extrajudicial killings.

Ronald Dela Rosa, then Philippine national police chief, speaks at an event in Quezon in 2/2017. Photo: Reuters

Earlier today, former Philippine senator Antonio Trillanes released to the press a copy of the ICC's arrest warrant for Dela Rosa. He stated the warrant was delivered to the Philippine Transnational Crime Center (PCTC) today.

Trillanes also emphasized that Dela Rosa could be arrested at the Senate, even while the body is in session.

Newly elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, told reporters that Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who served as Philippine national police chief under Duterte, is being protected by the Senate under immunity "in accordance with Philippine rules and laws".

On social media, ICC assistant lawyer Maria Kristina Conti noted that the Rome Statute clearly stipulates that "official capacity and accompanying immunities are irrelevant when considering criminal responsibility before the ICC".

The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, is a permanent international court established in 7/2002 based on the Rome Statute, a document adopted by more than 100 United Nations member states in 1998. According to the Rome Statute, the ICC focuses on prosecuting the world's most serious allegations, including: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression.

Duterte was arrested in Manila in 3/2025 under an ICC warrant, then transferred to the Netherlands and detained at Scheveningen prison, facing charges of crimes against humanity related to the war on drugs.

During his terms as Davao mayor and Philippine president, Duterte launched the war on drugs, allowing police to shoot drug suspects on sight without trial. Dela Rosa, then national police chief, oversaw this campaign.

Philippine police reported the campaign resulted in over 6,000 deaths, but human rights groups estimate the actual number to be tens of thousands.

Thanh Tam (According to AFP, ABS-CBN News)