The Manila Times
(UPDATE) THE Senate shielded Sen. Ronald dela Rosa from arrest Monday after National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents tried to serve a warrant of arrest allegedly issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs. ICC prosecutors had identified dela Rosa as a co-perpetrator of former president Rodrigo Duterte, now detained at The Hague, Netherlands to face trial for crimes against humanity in relation to his anti-drug campaign in which thousands of suspects were killed without the benefit of a trial. Dela Rosa, who had been hiding since November 2025, suddenly appeared on Monday at the Senate to cast his vote to oust Senate President Vicente Sotto III and replace him with his colleague in the minority, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. The decision to take protective custody of dela Rosa came after the senator alleged that he was chased by NBI agents seeking to serve him an arrest warrant supposedly issued by the ICC. Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who had filed a complaint before the ICC in 2017, was at the Senate Monday with the NBI agents who were there to arrest dela Rosa, and said he possessed an official ICC arrest warrant for the senator. The claim has not been verified, however. “I am here because he said on national TV (television) to accompany those who will arrest him. That’s why I am here,” Trillanes said in Filipino. “The NBI [agents] are here to arrest him. [He’s the one] who doesn’t want to come out.” Trillanes was referring to a televised challenge dela Rosa issued in 2024, telling him: “Go ahead, make my day.... Accompany those who will arrest me, and I will let you handcuff me.” Trillanes said he was not with the NBI agents when they wrestled with dela Rosa as they tried to arrest him. Trillanes himself had sought refuge at the Senate to avoid arrest in 2018 when then-president Rodrigo Duterte revoked the amnesty Trillanes received in 2011 and a court issued a warrant for his arrest for rebellion. The Senate on Monday took custody of dela Rosa, preventing the NBI agents from arresting him. Sen. Rodante Marcoleta moved for the Senate to grant protective custody on dela Rosa. “The motion is carried,” said newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano in approving Marcoleta’s motion. Sen. Joel Villanueva moved to cite in contempt the NBI agents who tried to arrest dela Rosa. The Senate security office placed the Senate under lockdown to distinguish the NBI agents from Senate employees and other guests. There is a pending complaint against dela Rosa before the Senate Ethics Committee for his months-long absence from sessions. Subpoena served Earlier Monday, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) served a subpoena to dela Rosa both in his office in the Senate and his residence in Davao del Sur. He however was not found in both addresses. The subpoena requests the senator to appear before LtCol. Jerome, Jay Ragonton, officer-in-charge, Major Crimes Investigation Unit of the CIDG in Camp Crame, on May 14, in connection with an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings in the Davao region during his stint as Davao City police chief. In a press briefing, BGen. Randulf Tuaño told reporters that the subpoena was only received by dela Rosa’s home caretaker and his staff in the Senate. “The said subpoena was prepared and signed yesterday, Sunday and we can see in the subpoena that Senator dela Rosa is being invited to appear before the CIDG on Thursday (May 14) at 10 a.m.,” he said in Filipino. Dela Rosa had been in hiding since November 2025 following rumors that an arrest warrant has been issued against him by the ICC regarding his alleged role in extrajudicial killings as the chief implementer of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs during his stint as city and regional director of Davao City and eventually as PNP chief. The subpoena was signed by CIDG director MGen. Robert Morico II and was served Monday morning at both dela Rosa’s Senate office and his residence in Davao City. The subpoena issued against dela Rosa was a subpoena duces tecum, compelling the senator not only to appear before investigators but also to produce documents and records relevant to the ongoing probe. Under the order, dela Rosa was instructed to execute a sworn statement or affidavit and submit “documents and other relevant information” tied to the investigation. Remulla warned that failure to comply with the subpoena without valid justification could expose the senator to legal consequences.
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