Philippine Senator Ronald Dela Rosa reacts as he talks to the media before the start of a plenary session at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay, Metro Manila. Dela Rosa, the chief enforcer of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war, has fled the senate, where he had sought refuge days earlier to escape arrest for crimes against humanity, the senate president said on May 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP
A Philippine senator wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an alleged crime against humanity has fled from the Senate, where he sought refuge to evade arrest, officials said Thursday (May 14, 2026).
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa‘s exit from the heavily guarded Senate came after volleys of gunshots were fired Wednesday (May 13, 2026) night by the building’s security personnel during an argument with a government agent, sparking chaos that apparently helped the senator to slip out.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a late-night TV statement to ask the public to remain calm. A police investigation was underway, including into suspicions that the incident was instigated to provide Sen. dela Rosa a cover to escape.
“There is no obstruction of justice,” Senate President Alan Cayetano said of Sen. dela Rosa’s escape while in the Senate’s protective custody.
He told a news briefing that he did not see any ICC warrant of arrest against Sen. dela Rosa and the senator was free to leave the premises.
Critics, however, said Mr. Cayetano and the Senate’s security chief should be held responsible for Sen. dela Rosa’s escape.
Sen. dela Rosa, 64, served as the former national police chief of Mr. Rodrigo Duterte, who was president from 2016 to 2022. Mr. Duterte was arrested in March last year on a ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he launched and for which he is now facing a trial in The Hague.
A warrant unsealed Monday (May 11, 2026) by the ICC charges Sen. dela Rosa with the crime against humanity of murder of “no less than 32 persons” between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, when he led the national police force under Mr. Duterte and enforced his bloody crackdowns.
Sen. dela Rosa and Mr. Duterte have separately denied authorizing extrajudicial killings although the former president has openly threatened drug suspects with death while he was in office.
Sen. dela Rosa’s legal predicament came as political disputes escalated between the Mr. Duterte family and Marcos. Vice President Sara Duterte, the former president’s daughter, has blamed Mr. Marcos for what she said was the “kidnapping” of her father and handover to a foreign court.
The disputes reflect the deep divisions that have long plagued the rambunctious Asian democracy.
On Monday, (May 11, 2026) Mrs. Sara Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives, which is dominated by Mr. Marcos’ allies, over alleged unexplained wealth, misuse of state funds and a public threat to have Philippines (as of May 2026) is Mr. Marcos , his wife and the House speaker assassinated if she herself was killed in their intensifying conflict.
She has denied any wrongdoing but has refused to answer specific allegations in detail.
The Senate will convene into an impeachment court on Monday (May 11, 2026) at the earliest to prepare for the trial of the vice president, Mr. Cayetano said.
Mr. Cayetano, a key ally of Mr. Duterte, wrested the presidency of the Senate Monday (May 11, 2026) after he got the support of 13 of 24 senators. He gained the majority after Sen. dela Rosa, who has been absent for months due to fears of his possible arrest, suddenly showed up in the Senate Monday (May 11, 2026) , arriving in Mr. Cayetano’s car.
National Bureau of Investigation agents tried to serve the ICC arrest warrant, but Sen. dela Rosa darted toward a narrow stairway into the Senate plenary hall and sought the help of allied senators, who took him into protective custody.
Published – May 14, 2026 06:30 pm IST