MANILA — An effort by Philippine authorities to arrest Senator Ronald Marapon dela Rosa on an International Criminal Court murder charge erupted in gunfire Wednesday, briefly transforming a legislative chamber into a scene of tension and confusion, the Associated Press reported. No one was hurt, but the episode marked a dramatic escalation in the ICC’s years-long pursuit of accountability for the bloody anti-drug campaign that defined former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
The arrest attempt came two days after the court unsealed a warrant charging dela Rosa, who served as national police chief from 2016 to 2018, with the crime against humanity of murder. The warrant, issued in November, accuses him of involvement in the killings of no fewer than 32 people during his tenure at the helm of the police force. Dela Rosa, 64, has vowed to contest the arrest order and said he would seek all available legal remedies. The ICC had no immediate comment on the events in Manila.
The Philippines formally withdrew from the ICC in 2019, after then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced a preliminary probe into allegations of extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who succeeded Duterte in 2022, has not rejoined the court, but his administration has said it would cooperate if the ICC requested international police to take a suspect into custody through a so-called red notice. It was not immediately clear whether such a notice was issued for dela Rosa.
The ICC’s jurisdiction over Philippine officials was affirmed last year when judges rejected a motion from Duterte’s legal team to dismiss the case on the grounds that the Philippines had withdrawn. Countries cannot “abuse” their right to withdraw from the Rome Statute “by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration,” the ruling stated. Duterte was arrested last year and is being held at the ICC’s detention center in The Hague awaiting trial on crimes against humanity charges tied to the drug killings.
The court’s work has faced resistance far beyond Manila. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, some judges and Khan’s two deputies, accusing the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions” targeting America and Israel. Trump had previously sanctioned Bensouda during his first term; those sanctions were lifted under President Joe Biden. Russia, too, rejects the court’s authority and has issued a warrant for Khan and the ICC judge who signed a warrant for President Vladimir Putin.
The ICC, established in 2002, has 125 member states but counts the United States, Russia and China among the major powers that are not members. It operates as a court of last resort, stepping in only when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to prosecute.