Tomas Buenaventura on the standoff between police and Philippine politician and ICC fugitive Dela Rosa

On Monday, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), turned up for a voting procedure at the Philippine Senate. Faced with the threat of arrest, he has sought protection in the Senate. After a standoff between police and Senate security on Wednesday, during which gunshots were fired, it is likely he has fled the building and is in hiding again. 

Tomas Buenaventura, Philippines Senior Research Assistant at ACLED, said:  

"The decision by Dela Rosa to appear publicly was surprising. He had spent the last several months in hiding. The reason he showed up was to take part in a vote that significantly changed the makeup of the Philippine Senate, effectively replacing the leadership with a pro-Duterte one. The fact that Dela Rosa would take such a risk — one that has now escalated so publicly — is a testament to the enduring influence of the Duterte bloc, which Dela Rosa clearly hoped to leverage in the face of imminent arrest. As Rodrigo Duterte’s first chief of police, Dela Rosa was central in carrying out Duterte’s war on drugs, a campaign which ACLED found killed almost 8,000 civilians. 

"Under Dela Rosa, the war on drugs reached its early peaks, with ACLED recording at least 5,000 fatalities during Dela Rosa’s term as police chief from 1 July 2016 to 19 April 2018. Roughly half of these killings were attributed to the police, and another half to anti-drug vigilantes suspected of working closely with police. 

"It is still unclear whether Dela Rosa will be arrested, but it would not be unprecedented. Rodrigo Duterte is currently in prison awaiting trial at the ICC  for similar charges. 

"This saga unfolds as Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of Rodrigo Duterte, faces an impeachment trial. After a successful vote in the House of Representatives, the process was brought to the Senate. But now that the Duterte bloc has secured control of the Senate, this trial is unlikely to succeed. A successful impeachment would have barred her from running for president in 2028, an ambition she is likely not going to give up any time soon."