MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine lawmaker facing International Criminal Court charges for alleged crimes against humanity has escaped from the nation’s legislative building where he had been hiding to avoid arrest, government officials announced Thursday.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa managed to leave the heavily secured Senate facility following an incident Wednesday evening when security guards discharged multiple gunshots during a confrontation with a government official, creating disorder that apparently allowed the senator to escape undetected.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed the nation on television late Wednesday night, urging citizens to stay calm. Police have launched an investigation, including examining whether the incident was deliberately staged to create an opportunity for dela Rosa to flee.
“There is no obstruction of justice,” Senate President Alan Cayetano stated regarding dela Rosa’s departure while under the Senate’s protection.
During a press conference, he explained that he had not been shown any ICC arrest warrant for dela Rosa and that the senator was permitted to leave the building.
Opposition voices, however, argued that Cayetano and the Senate’s head of security should face accountability for allowing dela Rosa’s escape.
The 64-year-old dela Rosa previously headed the national police force under Rodrigo Duterte, who held the presidency from 2016 through 2022. Duterte was taken into custody in March of last year on an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity related to violent anti-narcotics campaigns he initiated and is currently facing prosecution in The Hague.
An ICC warrant made public Monday accuses dela Rosa of the crime against humanity of murder involving “no less than 32 persons” from July 2016 through late April 2018, during his tenure as national police chief under Duterte while implementing his violent enforcement operations.
Both dela Rosa and Duterte have rejected claims they authorized extrajudicial executions, though the former president publicly threatened drug suspects with death during his time in office.
Dela Rosa’s legal troubles have emerged amid growing political tensions between the Duterte family and Marcos. Vice President Sara Duterte, the former president’s daughter, has accused Marcos of orchestrating what she called the “kidnapping” of her father and his transfer to an international tribunal.
These conflicts highlight the profound divisions that have historically troubled the dynamic Asian democracy.
On Monday, Sara Duterte faced impeachment by the House of Representatives, controlled by Marcos supporters, over accusations of unexplained wealth, misappropriation of government funds, and publicly threatening to assassinate Marcos, his spouse, and the House speaker if she were killed in their escalating feud.
While she has rejected any misconduct, she has declined to provide detailed responses to the specific accusations.
The Senate will transform into an impeachment tribunal as early as Monday to begin preparations for the vice president’s trial, Cayetano announced.
Cayetano, a close associate of Rodrigo Duterte, secured the Senate presidency Monday after gaining backing from 13 of 24 senators. He achieved this majority after dela Rosa, who had been absent for months due to arrest concerns, unexpectedly appeared at the Senate Monday in Cayetano’s vehicle.
National Bureau of Investigation officers attempted to deliver the ICC arrest warrant, but dela Rosa rushed toward a narrow staircase leading to the Senate chamber and requested assistance from supportive senators, who placed him under their protection.
