The International Criminal Court (ICC) shot down reports, which resurfaced on Saturday, saying that an arrest warrant has been issued for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa over crimes against humanity allegations linked to the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.

The ICC issued the clarification amid reports that Interpol agents were already in the Philippines to serve the warrant.

“Dear all, No public arrest warrants have been issued in relation to the situation in the Philippines,” ICC outreach officer Caroline Maurel told reporters.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he had not received an official report or copy of an arrest warrant and denied that Interpol operatives were already in the country.

“None yet to my knowledge,” Remulla said.

Dela Rosa’s political party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), however, placed great weight on the report, prompting it to express its concern.

“PDP views with great alarm the report it has received regarding a warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court for one of its ranking members. If this is true, then it is condemnable as another instance of the severe derogation of our sovereignty and independence as a nation,” the statement read.

“The continued kowtowing by the Marcos administration to the ICC, notwithstanding our country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, insofar as such slavish subservience serves Marcos’ political agenda, is most execrable,” the party said.

It encouraged the government to “assert its right of self-determination and its dignity as a free country, and not act as a neo-colonial lapdog of Western powers.”

Moreover, PDP deputy national spokesperson Ferdinand Topacio said the Marcos administration should not repeat “the cowardly and dastardly acts committed against former President Rodrigo Duterte.”

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber issued the arrest order against Duterte as a “secret” on 7 March 2025 and reclassified as “public” four days later on 11 March.

Duterte was handed over to the ICC’s custody on 12 March after he was arrested by local police authorities. He was first held at Villamor Air Base before being flown to the Netherlands that same night.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held a press conference minutes after Duterte’s plane departed Villamor, clarifying that the arrest was carried out not on behalf of the ICC (of which the Philippines was not a member) but in cooperation with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

Order must be ‘lawful’

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it would only act on lawful orders issued by competent authorities and in accordance with existing laws, rules, and procedures.

“Any appropriate police action, if and when necessary, shall be undertaken with full adherence to due process, the rule of law, and respect for human rights,” the PNP said in a statement.

Remulla said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is preparing contingency measures in connection with the reported ICC move.

“The unverified info just arrived this morning. It takes time to mobilize,” he said.

Remulla said he believes Dela Rosa is hiding out in the Davao region.

Dela Rosa has been absent from the Senate since November last year amid speculations an ICC arrest warrant was about to be issued against him in connection with the crimes against humanity case against Duterte over his administration’s anti-drug campaign.

ICC prosecutors had previously named the senator as a supposed co-perpetrator in the case.

According to the prosecution’s Document Containing the Charges, Duterte and his alleged co-perpetrators carried out a “common plan” to neutralize suspected criminals through violent crimes, including murder.

Kaufman wants out

In a separate development, Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman has filed a request to withdraw as counsel of the former President. Kaufman said Duterte plans to appoint a new lawyer.

In a request dated 8 May, Kaufman said he was originally engaged to represent Duterte for one year, with his term ending on 31 March 2026.

Kaufman said the defense team had visited Duterte and documented his decision to terminate their engagement and proceed with new legal representation.

He said he has spoken with the incoming lawyer, who confirmed his readiness to take over the case immediately.

The incoming counsel, whose name was redacted, was informed of the case deadlines and assured his readiness to attend the status conference on 27 May.

“I am convinced the continuity and efficacy of Mr. Duterte’s representation will remain assured through [REDACTED], who has a wealth of experience at the International Criminal Court, and the existing defense team,” Kaufman said, thanking the incoming lawyer for his “graceful, supportive, and collegial approach.”

Before Kaufman’s filing, Dr. Dov Jacobs also requested to withdraw as associate counsel for Duterte, a motion that the ICC Trial Chamber also granted

Jacobs said Kaufman informed him that Duterte intended to reorganize his defense team for the trial phase.

Faculties deteriorating

In the nine-page filing submitted on 8 May, Kaufman told the Trial Chamber III that the former President’s physical and cognitive condition had worsened in recent months, undermining earlier assessments that he posed risks of flight, obstruction, or interference with witnesses.

“Due to his recent episodes of loss of balance, the defense submits that there exists a prima facie change in circumstances that warrants reconsideration of the Article 58(1)(b) risk factors,” the document stated.

According to the filing, Duterte “lost his balance and collapsed several times” since his surrender to the ICC in March 2025, including one fall that led to a hospital evacuation.

Internal communications cited in the document described incidents of dizziness, unsteady gait, and uncertainty about prior medical procedures.

The defense said the ICC Detention Center medical officer recently justified placing Duterte under continuous 24-hour video surveillance because he is “an elderly detained person, with increased fall risk due to age and several chronic physical ailments.”

Keep him detained

The ICC prosecutors, meanwhile, have insisted that Duterte’s continued detention remains necessary, opposing fresh efforts by his lawyers to seek his interim release ahead of his trial for crimes against humanity and murder.

In a submission dated 8 May, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang argued that there have been no changes in circumstances that would require the Trial Chamber III to amend the decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber to remand Duterte’s detention for being a flight risk.

Niang also cited the continued rejection by the Duterte family, his lawyers, and allies of the proceedings’ legitimacy, which further fueled concerns that the 81-year-old ex-leader may evade detention and prosecution once released.

Specifically, he referenced Vice President Sara Duterte’s statement that there was “no way” the ICC will drop the case against her father, as well as the statement of former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo that the international tribunal has to “justify its existence” at the expense of the former president.