MANILA, Philippines – After months of absence, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa showed up at the Senate on Monday afternoon, May 11, to cast a key vote in a coup against Senate President Tito Sotto.

Before he could do this, however, Dela Rosa had to evade agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who were chasing him inside the Senate premises to serve a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Former senator Antonio Trillanes on Monday, May 11, claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has officially transmitted an arrest warrant to the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime (PCTC) against Dela Rosa over his alleged role in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. Dela Rosa was the first chief of the Philippine National Police under Duterte, who is detained in a prison in The Hague, Netherlands for crimes against humanity.

In a CCTV footage, Dela Rosa is seen emerging from the parking lot and taking the fire exit stairs. As he rushed to the plenary hall, he stumbled while going up the stairs but quickly recovered to continue running.

Dela Rosa claimed that the NBI agents were chasing him to stop him from casting his vote in the Senate leadership race.

Dela Rosa backed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president, ousting Sotto. At least 13 senators supported Cayetano’s leadership. Nine voted for Sotto. Two abstained.

Inside the plenary, Dela Rosa appeared visibly out of breath and was immediately approached by his allies, including senators Cayetano, Imee Marcos, and Rodante Marcoleta. Medical staff later attended to his wounds.

The Senate complex was later placed on lockdown, with barbed wire installed at several entrances as security tightened.

Cayetano said that the lockdown was implemented to prevent NBI agents who tried to arrest Dela Rosa from leaving the Senate, following a contempt order against them. Once identified, the lockdown will be lifted, he said.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said local police could not enforce any ICC warrant against Dela Rosa unless it is coursed through Interpol.

“The warrant that Senator Trillanes holds is a correspondence by the ICC to the PCTC (Philippine Center on Transnational Crime). However, we are not part of the treaty. We are affording Senator Dela Rosa due process by waiting for the Interpol to serve notice to the PCTC. As far as the DILG [is concerned], what Senator Trillanes has is an inactionable document,” Remulla told Rappler.

Cayetano also said that the Senate under his leadership will not allow the arrest of Dela Rosa, citing precedents such as the cases of Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon “Bong” Revilla. He said he will only allow Dela Rosa’s arrest if the warrant is issued by a Philippine court.

Trillanes, on the other hand, cited his arrest for rebellion by the Philippine National Police in 2018 while the Senate was also in session as a precedent. By not allowing the NBI to arrest Dela Rosa, he said the Senate was effectively protecting a fugitive.

The leadership shake-up and Dela Rosa’s appearance in the Senate happened as the impeachment trial in the Senate looms. On Monday, the House of Representatives impeached Sara Duterte for the second time. – Rappler.com