Calls for a nationwide manhunt for Sen. Bato dela Rosa were made after the Supreme Court denied his request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) concerning the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant for his arrest.
The High Court on Wednesday, May 20, rejected the senator’s TRO request and a status quo ante order seeking to block government cooperation with the ICC.
READ: Supreme Court rejects bid to block arrest of Dela Rosa wanted by ICC
The Supreme Court, however, has yet to decide on the “main issues raised by the parties in their pleadings and motions in the main case.”
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) also argued that the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity authorizes the government to enforce the ICC arrest warrant without requiring validation by a Philippine court.
Dela Rosa has asked for a TRO and a status quo ante order to prevent law enforcement and other government agencies from arresting him based on any ICC warrant.
The senator’s lawyers also sought to prohibit Philippine authorities from cooperating with any effort to surrender him to a foreign tribunal without court clearance.
Dela Rosa is tagged as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the Duterte administration’s “war on drugs” campaign, and is accused of committing the “crime against humanity of murder” between July 2016 and April 2018 for his role as Philippine National Police chief.
Section 17 of the law allows the Philippine government to surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons to an international tribunal prosecuting such crimes.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s decision on Dela Rosa’s TRO sparked calls for his arrest following his escape from the Senate’s protective custody.
“This should be taken as a go-signal by our law enforcement authorities to undertake a full-on nationwide manhunt for International Fugitive Bato dela Rosa,” Rep. Perci Cendaña (Akbayan party-list) said in a post.
“There should be no safe quarters for those with blood of thousands on their hands. Kahit ang mga nagkakanlong sa mga pugante ay dapat mapanagot,” he added.
“Organize a full-on nationwide manhunt for Bato now. Pati ang mga nagkakanlong sa mga pugante, panagutin,” Cendaña said in another post.
Organize a full-on nationwide manhunt for Bato now. Pati ang mga nagkakanlong sa mga pugante, panagutin. https://t.co/gl1t60LBtS
— Rep. Perci Cendaña (@RepPerci) May 20, 2026
Some Filipinos agreed with the call in the comments section.
“#makethemaccountable, #NasaanSiBato, go get them! Lahat ng walang paggalang sa batas at mga pilit na bumabaluktot sa batas!” an online user wrote.
“Agree, po. Huwag lang naman sanang hanggang salita lang ang accountability,” another Pinoy commented.
“Manhunt for the most wanted FUGITIVE in the Philippines, Senator Bato Dela Rosa,” a different X user wrote, tagging the accounts of the National Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, the Philippine National Police and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
“He cannot hide behind political privilege, manufactured legal confusion, or the networks of impunity that protected the bloody drug war,” Reps. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers party), Sarah Elago (Gabriela Women’s Party) and Renee Louise Co (Kabataan party-list)
“A public official who helped implement a policy that resulted in mass killings cannot demand special treatment when he is finally made to answer,” they added.
Last week, Dela Rosa emerged after a six-month absence from the Senate to participate in a vote that ousted then-Senate President Tito Sotto III and installed then-Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano in the role.
He stayed in the Senate compound under protective custody and was able to fled after the shooting incident using the vehicle of Sen. Robin Padilla, a fellow Duterte ally.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed that, based on evidence and CCTV footage, there was no attack at the Senate on May 13.
The Palace also asserted that the ICC arrest warrant is “valid” and echoed the OSG’s statement that there was no need to go through a local court.
“According to the OSG — we saw the statement of the OSG — which represents our government. It said that there is no need to go through the local court. So since there is no TRO, we are saying that the warrant of arrest is valid,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a briefing.
— with reports from Philstar.com/Ian Laqui
