MANILA, May 14 — A top Philippine politician wanted by the International Criminal Court was no longer taking refuge at the Senate after what his wife called an “escape”, the Senate president said today, a day after chaos erupted over his possible arrest.
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, a former police chief and top enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs”, is wanted for crimes against humanity, the same offences Duterte is accused of, and had been under the Senate’s protection since Monday.
Gunshots were heard late yesterday inside the heavily guarded Senate and people there scrambled for cover, hours after dela Rosa, 64, appealed on social media for supporters to mobilise, saying agents were coming to arrest him.
His ally, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, today said he is no longer there and read to reporters a text message that he said is from dela Rosa’s wife, apologising for the turmoil that his presence had created.
“It’s for this reason I’m sure Ronald made his escape,” said the text message from Nancy dela Rosa.
The message did not disclose dela Rosa’s whereabouts but said fleeing “was not part of the plan”.
Big test for Marcos
The Senate standoff is a major challenge to the authority of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whose government was unable to confirm today if dela Rosa had fled, who exactly was shooting, or the identities of individuals who had tried to enter the Senate.
Marcos is embroiled in a bitter and long-running battle with the influential Duterte family and its political allies, and has insisted he gave no order to arrest dela Rosa, a staunch loyalist of the former president.
Dela Rosa’s appeal for help on social media led to chaos yesterday, with a hefty presence of police and armed guards at the Senate, protests outside, and more than a dozen shots fired just moments after a marine detachment was called in to bolster security.
Police spokesperson Randulf Tuano said investigations are underway, with bullet casings and assault rifle magazines recovered and one person detained who had “provided names” that were being verified.
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Melvin Matibag said the possibility that the incident was staged is also part of the probe.
The ICC unsealed a warrant dated November on Monday for dela Rosa’s arrest. He has filed an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court, arguing that the ICC has no jurisdiction after the Philippines’ 2019 withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
Mysterious slumland killings
The tough-talking dela Rosa enjoyed celebrity status as Rodrigo’s top lieutenant, overseeing a fierce crackdown during which thousands of alleged drug dealers were slain, with rights groups accusing police of systematic murders and cover-ups.
Police reject that and say the more than 6,000 killed in Project Double Barrel were all armed and had resisted arrest.
Activists say the real death toll may never be known, with users and peddlers gunned down daily in mysterious slumland killings that police blamed on vigilantes and turf wars.
In an interview with DZBB aired today, dela Rosa said he would “exhaust all available remedies” to block his ICC transfer, and, having learned about conditions Rodrigo is enduring, is no longer willing to fight his case in The Hague.
Both dela Rosa and Rodrigo have denied inciting police to commit murders.
Political tension has been boiling over since Monday, with drama following dela Rosa’s emergence from six months of hiding and the impeachment of the ex-president’s daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte, Marcos’ former running mate.
Marcos relied on support of the Duterte family to win a 2022 election before an acrimonious fallout that led to him handing Rodrigo over to the court in The Hague, where he will become the first former Asian head of state to go on trial.
Sara, who is in The Hague visiting her father, is fighting for her political survival, facing an impeachment trial in the Senate that could derail her run for the 2028 presidency.
The impeachment court will convene on May 18 and is expected to become a theatre for the grudge match between the rival clans, pitting loyalists of Marcos against allies of Duterte.
Sara said dela Rosa would be the subject of extraordinary rendition, likening it to what she called her father’s illegal abduction.
“What we are seeing now is the administration using all government resources to demolish political opposition,” Sara said in comments shared by her office.
