Dela Rosa evading the ICC arrest and the Senate leadership coup could mark a turning point for a Duterte camp under siege, analysts say
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenSam BeltranPublished: 8:27pm, 12 May 2026A clip of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa running through the Senate halls to evade an International Criminal Court arrest warrant has become one of the most startling images in recent Philippine politics.By Tuesday, the former national police chief was still inside the Senate under protective custody, turning the chamber into the centre of a legal and political stand-off over whether one of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s closest allies could be handed over to The Hague.But Monday’s chase was also a symbol of a Duterte camp under siege, analysts said, with the legal reckoning over his deadly anti-drug campaign now colliding with the impeachment battle facing his daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, and a fight to control the Senate.AdvertisementThe convergence has raised the stakes of Senate control: the chamber is now both the venue for Duterte-Carpio’s impeachment trial and, at least for the moment, a political shelter for one of her father’s closest allies.Riot police (front) block supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Ronald dela Rosa in front of the Senate gate in Manila on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
Dela Rosa, Duterte’s first national police chief and one of the most recognisable faces of his “war on drugs”, narrowly escaped arrest on Monday after officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) tried to serve the ICC warrant inside the Senate.
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He was caught on camera running up a flight of stairs and along a corridor inside the Senate building, hours before the ICC unsealed the warrant.
