Philippine senator Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief and close ally of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, was seen fleeing arrest in dramatic security footage captured inside the senate complex. The incident unfolded on Monday as government agents attempted to detain him on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Chaos in the Senate
Dela Rosa, who served as police chief during Duterte's deadly anti-drug crackdown, raced through hallways and stumbled on a staircase while evading authorities. He later claimed in a Facebook livestream that they wanted to forcibly bring him to The Hague. The ICC confirmed it had issued an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa, naming him as a co-perpetrator in a case accusing Duterte of crimes against humanity.
Protective Custody and Political Turmoil
By evening, barbed wire and riot police surrounded the senate compound. The new senate president, Alan Peter Cayetano, another Duterte ally, offered Dela Rosa protective custody. Dela Rosa spent the night in a senate office. The chaos coincided with the lower house voting to impeach Vice-President Sara Duterte, the former president's daughter, deepening a bitter power struggle with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The arrest warrant had been issued confidentially in November, but Dela Rosa avoided the senate for months until attending Monday's session. Cayetano stated the senate would only allow an arrest by a Philippine court. Sara Duterte faces impeachment charges including misusing public funds and threatening the president. She denies wrongdoing and needs only nine senators for acquittal, a scenario analysts say depends on the trial's outcome.
Families of anti-drug crackdown victims demand Dela Rosa's extradition to the ICC. Llore Pasco, whose two sons were killed, said Dela Rosa played a major role and deserves jail. Dela Rosa emerged Tuesday in shorts and a T-shirt from a fellow senator's office, but his next steps remain unclear.
