SENATOR Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa marked his 64th birthday on Wednesday, January 21, 2026 with a public statement lashing out at the perceived foreign intervention in his legal situation and emphasizing his willingness to face legal challenges only in Philippine courts. This is as media and government officials continue to grapple with conflicting information about possible actions by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a lengthy message shared on social media, Dela Rosa said he is “alive and well, gratefully celebrating 64 years of this God-given life,” and declared that he is “waiting” for what he calls a genuine pursuit of justice one conducted domestically, not through what he described as “fake and foreign meddling.”
“If indeed there are cases against me, then I wait for a time and a certainty that I shall be able to face these cases as a Filipino, before Filipinos,” Dela Rosa wrote, emphasizing his respect for national sovereignty. “If I were to allow myself to be arrested and tried by foreign courts, it would seem as though I disregarded the struggles of our heroes and soldiers. I will never waste the blood and sweat of Filipinos who fought for our independence.”
He went on to thank supporters who have sent him greetings, prayers, and messages of encouragement, saying their backing makes him “even braver” in what he calls his fight.
He also called on critics to reassess their enthusiasm for foreign legal intervention, asking, “Why are you excited to surrender your fellow Filipino to foreigners?” before closing with a wish that the Philippines be restored to “true nationhood.”
ICC controversy and conflicting reports
Dela Rosa’s statement comes amid ongoing confusion and debate over whether the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with the Philippine government’s war on drugs, a controversial campaign launched under former President Rodrigo Duterte that civil society groups and international bodies have linked to alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
In November 2025, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla publicly claimed on national radio that the ICC had issued a warrant of arrest for Dela Rosa, alleging crimes against humanity tied to the drug war he helped implement as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under Duterte.
However, multiple government and international officials have since provided contradictory accounts.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it had not received any official arrest warrant or documentation from the ICC at the time of the report. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also said it was still verifying information about any ICC order and had not received a copy.
Meanwhile, an ICC spokesperson told reporters that the court could not confirm reports of an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa, noting that the tribunal’s official communications channels show only one confirmed case against Duterte.
These mixed public statements have fueled speculation and legal uncertainty in national discourse, with some commentators on social media suggesting that the mention of co-perpetrators in the ICC investigation implies potential proceedings against several Duterte administration figures.
Dela Rosa’s role in Duterte admin drug war
Before his political career in the Senate, Dela Rosa served as PNP chief from 2016 to 2018, when then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s aggressive anti-drug campaign was at its peak.
Under Dela Rosa’s leadership, the campaign, which included the controversial “Oplan Tokhang” police strategy, allegedly led to thousands of deaths. According to government estimates, fatalities in the drug war reached more than 7,000.
Human rights organizations, however, have said the toll could be significantly higher, as high as 12,000 to 30,000 when including killings linked to vigilante-style operations.
Human rights advocates and families of victims have urged the ICC to pursue justice not only for Duterte, who was detained in March 2025 in The Hague on a separate ICC warrant, but also for officials and executives they say were complicit in orchestrating or facilitating the drug war’s most lethal elements.
In past statements, Dela Rosa has defended his role, denying that the campaign encouraged unlawful killings and dismissing reports of extrajudicial executions as “propaganda.”
Political and legal implications
Dela Rosa’s birthday message comes as legal experts, politicians, and civil society groups continue to debate the implications of ICC involvement in Philippine affairs, particularly in light of the Philippines’ 2018 withdrawal from the ICC’s founding Rome Statute and ongoing efforts by some sectors to push for domestic accountability mechanisms. DEF