FACT CHECK: No ICC arrest warrant issued vs Bong Go

Claim: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warrant for the arrest of Senator Christopher “Bong” Go.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Multiple posts have been circulating online claiming that Go has already been arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP) due to a warrant issued by the ICC.

One video uploaded on June 18 has garnered over 23,940 views, 1,400 likes, and 140 comments as of writing. The YouTube channel that posted the video, “Sangkay Janjan,” has over 1.62 million subscribers and consistently uploads commentary on Philippine current affairs.

Another video, posted on the same date by the channel “Andys Vlog Official,” claims: “Pag aresto ng ICC kay Senator Bong Go. Inilabas na ang ICC warrant para sa kanya.”

(ICC arrests Senator Bong Go. The ICC has already issued a warrant against him.) 

This video has accumulated over 2,170 views, 150 likes, and 30 comments.

The facts: The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that it has not received any arrest warrant from the ICC against Go as of June 18.

“We confirm that we have not received any official communication from the ICC regarding the alleged issuance of a warrant of arrest against Senator Bong Go. This information was verified with the PCTC (Philippine Center on Transnational Crime) as of 10 a.m. this morning,” DOJ spokesperson Prosecutor Rafael Martinez said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government also denied receiving a formal notice on a supposed arrest warrant for Go. Another source told Rappler that a warrant against Go has yet to be issued.

ICC warrant: The misleading posts and videos circulated after Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte said that a “highly reliable source” informed him about an arrest order for Go and several police officers.

“A highly reliable source informed me that ICC arrest warrants against Senator Bong Go and two former police officers have already been issued,” Duterte said. “Wala na talagang katapusan ang administrasyon na ito sa paggamit ng ICC bilang political weapon laban sa kanilang mga kalaban?”

(Is there really no end to this administration’s use of the ICC as a political weapon against its opponents?) 

Malacañang denied Duterte’s claims, with Palace press officer Claire Castro saying, “Hindi ito wineweaponize. Kailangan lang po na matugunan lang din ang hiling ng mga kababayan natin. Kung kailangan na may managot, dapat managot.”

([The ICC] is not being weaponized. We just need to address the demands of our fellow citizens. If someone needs to be held accountable, they must be held accountable.)

Go, in a statement, said that he is leaving his fate up to God, maintaining that he has never violated any law.

Co-perpetrators: Go and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa are among the eight individuals named by the ICC as former president Rodrigo Duterte‘s co-perpetrators in his crimes against humanity case linked to his war on drugs. Human rights groups say that an estimated 30,000 deaths were recorded as a result of the anti-illegal drug campaign. (READ: TIMELINE: The road to Duterte’s trial at the International Criminal Court).

Go served as Duterte’s most trusted aide before winning a Senate seat in 2019. He had been placed in charge of both personal and professional matters for Duterte since the former president was a Davao City congressman in 1998.

During his 2019 senatorial campaign, Go said that he was willing to join Duterte in prison over the administration’s bloody anti-drug crackdown.

“President Duterte said he is ready to go to jail. I told him, I will go with him to jail because I know he is just doing his job. That is how much I love the President,” Go said in Filipino during a campaign speech.

Duterte has been detained in The Hague, Netherlands, since March 2025. – Reinnard Balonzo/Rappler.com 

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