‘Impunity on Display,’ APHR Calls on Philippines to Uphold Rule of Law, Surrender Dela Rosa to ICC
May 14, 2026
14 May 2026—ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) urges the Philippine government to cease obstructing the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for former Philippine National Police Chief and current Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa for alleged crimes against humanity, expressing grave concerns over the Senate’s move to protect the ICC suspect.
“What is unfolding in the Philippine Senate is an outright display of impunity. This is the same culture of impunity that allowed former President Rodrigo Duterte to unleash widespread killings against the poor under the guise of a ‘war on drugs.’ The Philippine government must stop shielding Ronald dela Rosa and fulfill its obligations under international law. He must be surrendered to the ICC.” said Mercy Chriesty Barends, Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives and Chairperson of APHR.
On 11 May 2026, the International Criminal Court (ICC) unsealed an arrest warrant against dela Rosa for alleged crimes against humanity of murder in connection with the Duterte administration’s bloody “war on drugs,” covering at least 32 documented killings between July 2016 and April 2018.
The days since the warrant’s unsealing have been deeply alarming. Rather than facilitating compliance, Philippine institutions have moved in the opposite direction. A coordinated leadership coup in the Senate installed Senator Peter Allan Cayetano as Senate President, who immediately declared dela Rosa under the Senate’s protection. National law enforcement agencies have hedged and deferred. And on the night of 13 May, gunshots from unidentified sources rang out inside the Senate building as tensions over the attempted arrest escalated.
President Marcos’s declaration that no state forces were ordered to arrest dela Rosa is itself a troubling signal. The Philippines remains bound by its domestic laws, which the Department of Justice has itself confirmed allow for surrender to the ICC.
APHR urges the Philippine government to uphold its obligations under international human rights law and to cooperate fully with the ICC in the enforcement of the arrest warrant against dela Rosa. No office, no institution, and no political leader is above the rule of law.
“The drug war claimed thousands of lives, the vast majority of them poor, urban Filipinos who were killed without due process, and whose families have waited nearly a decade for accountability,” said Charles Santiago, former Member of Parliament in Malaysia, and Co-Chairperson of APHR. “The integrity of international human rights mechanisms depends on whether leaders choose the rule of law over impunity. That the Philippines holds the 2026 ASEAN Chairship makes this moment all the more consequential. Manila’s response will signal to the region what kind of leadership it intends to provide.”
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ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) was founded in June 2013 with the objective of promoting democracy and human rights across Southeast Asia. Our founding members include many of the region's most progressive Members of Parliament (MPs), with a proven track record of human rights advocacy work.