The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a statement on May 11th, publicly disclosing the arrest warrant secretly issued in November last year against Philippine senator and former National Police Chief Delarossa. On the 11th, Delarosa sought judicial protection and requested the Philippine Supreme Court to immediately stop the authorities from arresting him or transferring him to the International Criminal Court.

Philippine Flag (Information Image) Xinhua News Agency Picture

On the 11th, the Philippine House of Representatives passed the impeachment case against Vice President Sarah Duterte, but on the same day, allies of the Duterte family took control of the Senate, which also brought a glimmer of hope for Sarah.

This change is mainly due to the appearance of Senator Ronald Delarosa and his vote in support of a leadership change in the Senate. In the past, De La Rosa served as the Chief of the National Police during the administration of former President Duterte.

On the 11th, after being absent for several months, Delarossa returned to the Senate and participated in the vote to dismiss Senate President Vincent Soto. On that day, Alan Kajitano, who served as the Foreign Minister during the Duterte era, became the new Speaker of the Senate.

According to Bloomberg, just after De La Rosa appeared in the Senate from hiding and cast a crucial vote, he stated that he will fully resist any attempt to execute the ICC arrest warrant. Previously, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him for his role in the Philippines' "drug war".

We will exhaust all available legal means to ensure that we will not be taken to The Hague for trial, "De La Rosa said in an interview with DZBB Radio in the Philippines on the 12th.

According to reports, Delarosa made the above remarks inside the Senate building. Previously, he was pursued by Philippine National Bureau of Investigation agents in the hallway of the building and subsequently obtained "protective custody" inside the building. According to regulations, the National Bureau of Investigation cannot arrest him unless he leaves the building. At present, dozens of riot police have been deployed around the building to prevent riots.

According to reports, the new Senate Speaker Cayetano instructed an investigation into the incident on the 11th and held discussions with the Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, Matiwag, who stated that Delarosa will not be arrested at present but needs to cooperate with the investigation.

Delarosa submitted a statement to the Philippine Supreme Court through his law firm, requesting the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, prohibiting measures such as arrest, detention, and extradition without a valid Philippine judicial arrest warrant.