The International Criminal Court (ICC) has accused Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa of crimes against humanity in connection with at least 32 killings allegedly committed during the previous Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

In the arrest warrant issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I dated Nov. 6, 2025, and later reclassified as public on May 11, 2026, the ICC said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe Dela Rosa was criminally responsible as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the killings.

The tribunal said Dela Rosa is being accused of the “crime against humanity of murder” under Article 7(1)(a) of the Rome Statute.

According to the ICC, the alleged killings happened “at least between 3 July 2016 and the end of April 2018” during which “no less than 32 persons were killed” in the Philippines.

The chamber said the deaths formed part of a “widespread and systematic” attack against civilians allegedly linked to the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

The warrant stated that police personnel, along with “non-police assets and paid hitmen,” allegedly targeted persons suspected of involvement in criminal and drug-related activities.

The ICC also alleged that Dela Rosa, as former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, helped implement a nationwide plan to “neutralise” alleged criminals, with the term supposedly understood by those involved to mean “kill.”

According to the tribunal, Dela Rosa allegedly contributed to the campaign by making public statements “authorising, condoning and promoting the killing of alleged criminals,” appointing key police officials, supplying personnel and logistical support, and encouraging police officers to legitimize killings through “fictitious self-defence scenarios.”

The chamber further alleged that Dela Rosa promised impunity to perpetrators and rewarded police officers involved in killings.

The ICC said the alleged common plan initially operated in Davao City through the so-called Davao Death Squad before it was expanded nationwide when former president Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2016.

The tribunal noted that Dela Rosa held key positions during the relevant period, including as Davao police chief and later as chief of the PNP from July 2016 to April 2018.

The ICC also justified the need for Dela Rosa’s arrest, saying there was no reasonable expectation that he would voluntarily cooperate with a summons from the court.

The chamber cited alleged public threats against ICC investigators and people cooperating with the probe, as well as accusations that dela Rosa fueled disinformation campaigns in the Philippines.

The warrant was originally issued confidentially under seal before the ICC confirmed to reporters on Monday, May 11, that the leaked document circulating in the media was authentic and that the tribunal was in the process of unsealing it.

Reports about an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa first surfaced in November 2025. The Senator had questioned the reported warrant and maintained that he was prepared to face the case should the ICC proceed against him.

However, he stopped appearing at the Senate or in public since then and only resurfaced on May 11 when his allies in the Senate moved to oust Sen. Vicente Sotto III as Senate President and replaced him with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV likewise appeared in the Senate on May 11, and up held a copy of what he claimed to be an ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.