Philippines orders arrest of fugitive senator wanted by ICC
Key takeaways
- Justice Secretary says anyone helping Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa evade arrest will ‘face consequences’.
- We’re pursuing this so that the ends of justice may be achieved,” he told a news conference.
- Vida did not elaborate on the leads authorities have on the location of dela Rosa, though the senator’s lawyers indicated this week he was in the Philippines.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Justice Secretary says anyone helping Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa evade arrest will ‘face consequences’.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Philippines Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa attends a plenary session at the Senate of the Philippines in Manila on May 11, 2026 [File: AFP]By AFP and Reuters Published On 21 May 202621 May 2026The Philippine justice secretary has ordered law enforcement to apprehend a senator wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity, a day after the country’s top court rejected his bid to block his arrest.
Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the former police chief and lead enforcer in the deadly so-called “war on drugs” during Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016-2022 presidency, would be tracked down and anyone helping him evade arrest would “face consequences”, Fredderick Vida said on Thursday.