EMBATTLED Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has rejected appeals for him to surrender to authorities in relation to the arrest warrant issued to him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a television interview, Dela Rosa said that despite the call of his colleagues in the Senate for him to turn himself in to law enforcement agencies, there are more who would not want him to do it.
Five senators from the minority bloc have filed a resolution urging Dela Rosa to surrender in relation to the arrest warrant issued against him by the ICC.
“Out of 24, lima sila. Ito naman mga families kuno ng victims kuno ng EJK (extrajudicial killings), ilan sila? Siguro kung percentage-wise, bigyan natin kahit na 10 percent Filipinos ang nagsasabi, sumuko ka sa ICC,” said Dela Rosa.
“Pero 90 percent ng Pilipino nagsasabi sa akin, ‘Sir, huwag kang magpapahuli sa mga dayuhan. Filipino tayo, we are a sovereign state. Hindi tayo miyembro ng ICC. Huwag na huwag kang magpapahuli. Hindi ako na namomolitika ditto, but I'm stating a fact. Lahat ng tao na siya sabi sa akin, ‘Sir, huwag kang magpapasiil sa mga dayuhan.’ Dahil alam namin ang background nito, political lang ito lahat bakit nagkagaganoon,’” he added.
Asked about his earlier statements that he would be willing to join former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently detained in the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, for charges of crimes against humanity, Dela Rosa said he already changed his mind since there is no guarantee that they will be staying on the same cell.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) appealed to Dela Rosa to surrender.
“Siya naman po nanggaling sa law enforcement. To avoid all these things, mas mabuti siguro na sumuko siya sa awtoridad para magawa natin 'yung tamang proseso at hindi na rin nagkakagulo at marami pang nai-involve na mga tao,” NBI Director Melvin Matibag said in a television interview.
The NBI attempted to serve the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa as he made a comeback on Monday, May 11, 2026, after being absent in the Senate for six months. Dela Rosa refused to be arrested, resulting in a staircase chase. He was placed under the protective custody of the Senate.
Dela Rosa was identified as a co-perpetrator of Duterte. The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I alleged Dela Rosa of being involved in a common plan that lasted from November 1, 2011 until March 16, 2019 to execute alleged criminals, particularly those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production. Dela Rosa served as a former chief of the Davao region police office and later the entire national police agency when Duterte took office in 2016.
