The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed that the tribunal has issued a warrant of arrest for Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, former President Rodrigo Duterte’s first chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), in connection with the killings under his war on drugs.

According to the 16-page document released by the ICC, the warrant of arrest was “classified as secret”, but it “may be communicated to, or its existence be revealed to States, international organizations or competent persons, and that the existence of the Prosecution’s application for the present warrant, currently classified as under seal, may similarly be mentioned to States, international organisations or competent persons.”

“The International Criminal Court confirms that the document published by the national authorities of the Republic of the Philippines and circulated in the media is indeed a formal ICC document,” ICC spokesperson Orianne Maillet said.

“This arrest warrant against Mr Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa was issued confidentially, under seal, by Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC on 6 November 2025. The ICC is currently in the process of unsealing the warrant of arrest. We will circulate to this group as soon as available,” she added.

The warrant mentioned Dela Rosa’s “alleged criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator” in the crimes against humanity of murder from July 3, 2016, until the end of April 2018, wherein at least 32 persons died.

Dela Rosa was the PNP chief at the height of the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war campaign.

The Chamber found reasonable grounds that Dela Rosa had committed the crimes against humanity of murder.

“Based on the material submitted by the Prosecution in support of the Incidents, the Chamber finds reasonable grounds to believe that, at least between 3 July 2016 and the end of April 2018, members of the Philippines’ law enforcement, sometimes with the assistance of persons who were not part of the police such as non-police assets and paid hitmen, killed no less than 32 persons – alleged criminals, such as alleged thieves, or people allegedly involved in drug-related activities – at various locations in the Philippines,” the warrant read.

The Prosecution submitted that Dela Rosa’s arrest was necessary “to ensure his appearance before the Court.”

“After evaluating the information submitted by the Prosecution, the Chamber accepts that ‘there is no reasonable expectation that he would cooperate with a summons to appear issued by the Court’,” the chamber said.