"Like a Fugitive": Duterte Ally Takes Refuge in Philippine Senate as ICC Hunt Intensifies – Chaos Engulfs Manila

12 May 2026 | Manila, Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The CCTV footage captures a man running for his political life. Ronald dela Rosa, a former police chief and close ally of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, races along the hallways of the Philippine senate, stumbling on the staircase, as he flees government agents.

"They want to forcibly bring me to The Hague, to surrender me there," Dela Rosa said later on a Facebook livestream, pleading for public support.

By evening, barbed wire and riot police surrounded the senate compound. The hunt for a Duterte ally had plunged Manila into chaos.

A Fugitive in the Senate: The Hunt for Dela Rosa

Dela Rosa served as police chief under Duterte and is named as a co-perpetrator in a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing the former leader of crimes against humanity over his anti-drugs crackdowns, in which thousands of people were killed. The ICC confirmed on Monday night it had issued an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa.

The warrant had been issued confidentially in November. Unconfirmed reports of his looming arrest had been circulating ever since, prompting Dela Rosa to stay away from the senate for months. But he chose to attend a hearing on Monday when senators elected Alan Peter Cayetano, another Duterte ally, as its president.

Cayetano announced the senate was offering protective custody, allowing an arrest only "under the condition that it is a Philippine court." Dela Rosa slept at the senate office overnight. On Tuesday, local media photographed him emerging from a fellow senator's office dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. It is unclear how long he will remain there – or what will happen when he emerges.

Power Struggle: Marcos Jr vs Duterte Dynasty

The chaos coincided with a vote by the lower house to impeach Vice-President Sara Duterte, the former president's daughter, capping off a dramatic day in Philippine politics. The impeachment marked the latest chapter in a bitter power struggle between Sara Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The two leaders were once allies who ran on a joint campaign in the 2022 election. Relations quickly soured, however, and they are now embroiled in a fierce feud that intensified last year when Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in Manila and flown to the ICC in The Hague.

The complaints against Vice-President Duterte – misusing public funds, amassing unexplained wealth, and threatening the lives of the president and first lady – will now be passed to the senate for trial. If found guilty, she will be banned from public office, derailing her plan to run for president in 2028.

The Senate as Battlefield: A Numbers Game

Duterte will need only nine senators to back her in order to be acquitted. Cayetano's appointment as senate president underlines the Dutertes' stronger position in the upper house – a crucial advantage for the vice-president's survival.

Jean Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, explained the stakes: "If [the Dutertes] have the majority, then they can actually allow or not allow some pieces of evidence to appear in that trial. They can allow or not allow some witnesses to be included."

Analysts say much will depend on not only the outcome of any impeachment trial but also how damaging such hearings are to her campaign. Sara Duterte has led several opinion polls despite the legal battles and allegations surrounding her and her father. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

"He Played a Major Role": Victims Demand Justice

Families whose relatives were killed during the anti-drug killings have called for Dela Rosa to be handed over to the ICC. Llore Pasco, whose two sons were killed at the height of the crackdowns, said: "He played a major role in carrying out Duterte's bloody war on drugs. Like Duterte, he deserves to be jailed and held accountable."

Thousands of Filipinos lost loved ones during the anti-drugs campaign. For them, the hunt for Dela Rosa is not a political drama – it is a pursuit of justice delayed for years.

What Comes Next?

Dela Rosa remains in the senate, protected by his allies, hunted by the ICC. Sara Duterte faces an impeachment trial that could end her political career. President Marcos Jr watches from Malacañang Palace, calculating his next move.

The barbed wire around the senate is a powerful symbol of a nation divided – between those who want justice for the dead and those who still stand behind the Duterte dynasty.

"He played a major role," Pasco said. The question now is whether the senate will let him walk free – or whether justice will finally catch up.

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