Ronald Dela Rosa speaks to the media during an ambush interview in the Senate on May 13, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/FileMANILA — The International Criminal Court arrest order for Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa should still be served on him despite any "political reason," ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti asserted Thursday.
Dela Rosa was chief architect and implementer of former President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war, which saw thousands of poor Filipinos dead.
"Whatever the political reason may be, it clearly has to be effected by the Philippine National Police or the NBI because they also have law enforcement powers," Conti told ANC.
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National Bureau of Investigation personnel in a dramatic chase failed to arrest Dela Rosa on May 11 following the unsealing of the ICC warrant for him for his role in the war on drugs.
Dela Rosa then sneaked out of the Senate premises in the wee hours of May 14 following a rare shootout that rocked the chamber.
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The senator has gone back into hiding since then, and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said last month that Dela Rosa could be somewhere in Mindanao, a stronghold of the Duterte family, his longtime political ally.
The ICC has no police powers and relies on states' law enforcers to implement arrest warrants.
Conti previously said that the serving of ICC warrants could become challenging because local governments hold some power over local police.
Dela Rosa and his allies have maintained that the warrant of arrest cannot be served on the senator because the Philippines already left the ICC in 2019 and that any attempt to implement it should course the warrant through local courts.
While Conti acknowledged that the decision to arrest Dela Rosa still depends on the Philippine government, she noted that the Marcos administration in the 2025 capture of Duterte "clung tightly" to its commitments to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
'TOP GUN'
Asked about the release of potential ICC arrest warrants for other personalities in the Duterte drug war, Conti said, "I think they're taking their time because they're also focusing on the case against Duterte."
Duterte is facing crimes against humanity of murder case before the ICC tied to his brutal drug war.
He is awaiting trial in November, and the ICC said Wednesday his continued detention was warranted.
"In the ICC, it's not a matter of low-hanging fruits, it's not a matter of who could easily be arrested, it's always an issue of whether this person is the most responsible," said Conti.
"They always go for the top gun, so to speak. In terms of hierarchy, clearly it's Duterte and then Bato."
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