Ex-Philippine leader Duterte's drug war enforcer escapes ICC arrest

Ex-Philippine leader Duterte's drug war enforcer escapes ICC arrest56 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJonathan Head,South East Asia correspondentandKoh EweAFP via Getty ImagesThe International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Filipino Senator Ronald dela RosaA Filipino senator who oversaw former president Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs has taken refuge inside the country's Senate, hours before the International Criminal Court unsealed a warrant for his arrest. Ronald Dela Rosa was pictured fleeing into the Senate on Monday as officers chased after him. He narrowly escaped and was placed under protective custody. Police later said they would not arrest him while he was in custody of the Senate. Dela Rosa is accused of the killing of at least 32 people between 2016 and 2018, as an "indirect co-perpetrator" in Duterte's anti-drugs campaign, in which thousands of alleged drug dealers were shot and killed.Former president Duterte has been in ICC custody in The Hague since his arrest in March 2025.Security camera footage played to lawmakers on Monday showed National Bureau of Investigation agents chasing Dela Rosa up flights of stairs and a corridor in the Senate building after he arrived.An ensuing standoff ended hours later with the chief of the National Bureau of Investigation telling reporters that they would not arrest Dela Rosa while he was in the custody of the Senate.Dela Rosa has said that he would remain within the Senate's premises and "do everything" to avoid being taken to the Hague.His lawyers say they have asked the Supreme Court to block his arrest in the absence of a valid Philippine judicial warrant.Getty ImagesBato dela Rosa served as Rodrigo Duterte's national police chiefOn Tuesday morning, Dela Rosa urged his supporters, who have gathered outside the Senate building, to "keep vigil in front of the Senate until the Supreme Court decides".He also called on Phili...