‘Temple Run’: ICC Confirms Arrest Warrant As Bato Dela Rosa Surfaces, Causes Showdown

Ending a months-long absence, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa made a dramatic return to the Senate to cast a crucial vote in a leadership coup on Monday, May 11.

Dela Rosa stole the spotlight as the House of Representatives voted to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte for the second time and the upper chamber unseated Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as Senate president supposedly to block her trial.

Dela Rosa’s appearance helped provide the defining numbers to install Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as the new Senate president.

Dela Rosa, the chief enforcer of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly “war on drugs” locked himself in ?his Senate offices on Monday after the International Criminal Court unsealed a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of crimes against humanity.

In the hours before the ICC confirmed that the warrant had been issued for Dela Rosa, allies in the Senate placed him under protective custody after a brief standoff with law enforcement agents.

Authorities did not confirm why officials from the National Bureau of Investigation pursued Dela Rosa at the Senate building, but former senator Antonio Trillanes, who led multiple investigations into the war on drugs and long campaigned for former president Duterte to ?be indicted by the ICC, told reporters that they were there to serve the warrant.

Duterte, who was president from 2016 to 2022, was arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in March 2025 and taken to the ICC in The Hague, where judges last month confirmed charges of murder as a crime against humanity, paving the way for trial.

ICC judges said the killings formed part of a “widespread and systematic” campaign targeting suspected criminals, particularly in anti-drug operations, noting that at least 32 people were killed in incidents reviewed between 2016 and 2018.

The warrant, which was issued in November, alleged that Dela Rosa, who led the PNP at ?the time, ?helped implement a broader plan to “neutralize” suspects and took steps to enable and encourage the operations.

“The International Criminal Court confirms that the document published by national authorities of the Re public of the Philippines and circulated in media is indeed a formal ICC document. This arrest warrant against Mr. Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa was issued confidentially, under seal, by Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC on 6 November 2025,” ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet told reporters.

“The ICC is currently in the process of unsealing the warrant of arrest,” it added.

In a video he posted on Facebook, Dela Rosa said “I will face it, as long as they follow the proper process. If there is a legitimate warrant of arrest, they should bring it before the local court, let’s discuss it, and we will face it.”

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said any arrest would have to be processed through the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol because the Philippines withdrew from the ?ICC in 2019.

Video footage displayed during the Senate session showed Dela Rosa running away from NBI agents and stumbling on stairs before reaching the safety of his office.

This earned various reactions from the public, with some describing it as hilarious and similar to “Temple Run,” a 2011 endless runner video game developed and published by Imangi Studios.

Later in the evening, a scuffle erupted between NBI agents and personnel of the Senate sergeant-at arms, prompting NBI Director Melvin Matibag to show up to help defuse the situation.

Cayetano said Dela Rosa “will enjoy the protection of the law and the protection of the Senate in accordance ?with our rules and Philippine laws.”

The Senate was locked down for a while to prevent Dela Rosa’s arrest.

Shortly before the Senate moved to place him under its protection, Dela Rosa’s lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court to stop “any arrest, detention, transfer, or rendition” of the senator ?to any foreign tribunal, citing reports that the ICC may have issued a warrant of arrest.

Duterte famously promised in public speeches to kill thousands of people. His defense has said he maintains his innocence and that his rhetoric was intended to instill fear and respect for the law.

Before Dela Rosa’s appearance, the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Monday served a subpoena on him in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged extrajudicial killings in Davao.

CIDG agents did not find Dela Rosa at his Davao City residence and Senate office. He has been absent from the Senate since November 2025.

Dela Rosa must appear before police Lt. Col. Jerome Bargamento of the CIDG major crimes investigation unit on May 14 at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Failure to comply without valid justification could lead to indirect contempt charges. – With Reuters, Janvic Mateo, Ghio Ong, Rainier Allan Ronda, Edith Regalado