Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque advised Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to chain himself to the Supreme Court as he claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant for the latter’s arrest.

In a series of Facebook posts on late Sunday, Dec. 7 (Manila time), Roque, who is currently applying for asylum in Europe, advised Dela Rosa not to let himself “be kidnapped.”

He, however, did not provide documents, official confirmation, or details behind his assertion.

“Sen Bato, your warrant of arrest is out! Hwag ka pa-kidnap (Senator Bato, your warrant of arrest is out! Don’t allow yourself to be kidnapped)!” Roque wrote.

“Insist that you have the right to be brought before a Philippine Court first,” he added.

In another post, Roque told Dela Rosa to seek sanctuary at the Supreme Court.

“Sen Bato: mag posas ka na sa loob ng hukuman, preferably sa Supreme Court! Mag sanctuary ka dun! Hwag na hwag ka magpapadukot (Senator Bato: handcuff yourself inside a courtroom, preferably the Supreme Court! Seek sanctuary there! Do not, under any circumstance, let yourself be taken)!” he said.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not verified the existence of any such warrant as of press time.

Roque’s claim follows repeated public statements from Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, who said in November that the ICC had already issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa in connection with alleged crimes against humanity during the Duterte administration’s drug war.

Remulla reiterated over the weekend that such a warrant exists. Since his initial revelation, Dela Rosa has not appeared in the Senate.

The senator had filed a “very urgent motion” before the Supreme Court seeking to compel the Ombudsman to produce the warrant, but the Court rejected the request.

Dela Rosa served as Philippine National Police chief from 2016 to 2018 and was widely described as the “architect” of Oplan Tokhang, the Duterte-era campaign that resulted in at least 6,000 deaths based on government data. Human rights groups estimate up to 30,000 fatalities.

The ICC investigation covers alleged crimes against humanity committed between 2016 and 2019. Although the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, the court maintains its jurisdiction over incidents that occurred while the country was still a state party.

An alleged warrant for Dela Rosa would come months after the March 2025 arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who faces similar charges before the ICC.

In November, Malacañang emphasized that even if a warrant exists, Dela Rosa could not be automatically surrendered to the ICC, citing a new Supreme Court rule on extradition that requires that any turnover be processed through the Philippine judiciary.

Meanwhile, Roque said he "vehemently opposes" the Philippine government's request to issue and circulate a Red Notice against him, noting he is a "protected bona fide" asylum seeker under Dutch and European Law, supported by official documentation from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service.

According to Roque, the nonbailable "syndicated trafficking" allegation is part of a "political retaliation" by the Marcos administration against staunch Duterte supporters and vocal Marcos Jr. critics.

"The allegation is simply fabricated, unsupported by evidence, and weaponized to discredit and silence me," he said.

He likewise noted that the Philippine government's request violates the Interpol Constitution's Article 2 on Interpol's human rights obligations and Article 3, strictly barring Interpol from engaging in matters that are "predominantly political in character."

He added that Interpol jurisprudence prohibits Red Notices against political opponents and asylum seekers.

"Having said this, I submitted my opposition to the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files to deny the request of the Philippine government on the matter," Roque said.