MANILA — The Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation has declared it will move swiftly to detain Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign, NBI Director Melvin Matibag announced Thursday.
“The order is to arrest Senator Dela Rosa, so we’ll do so without delay,” Matibag said in a statement, adding that the operation would be carried out “professionally” and “strictly” within legal rules. He described the senator as a “fugitive” and said the agency would act “without fear or favor.”
“Fugitive Senator Dela Rosa will be arrested whether he likes it or not because we have to implement the law without fear or favor.”
— NBI Director Melvin Matibag
The NBI’s declaration follows a decisive ruling by the Philippine Supreme Court, which voted 9-5-1 to deny dela Rosa’s petition for a temporary restraining order and a status quo ante order that would have blocked the government from enforcing the ICC warrant on Philippine soil. Matibag cited the absence of any court injunction as the legal basis for proceeding with the arrest.
The move to arrest the senator was ordered by Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida. The NBI, as a law enforcement arm of the Department of Justice, said it has consistently maintained that the ICC warrant must be enforced.
Senate shooting and calls for transparency
The arrest announcement comes days after a shooting at the Philippine Senate on May 13 — two days after NBI agents attempted to serve the warrant on dela Rosa on May 11 at the Government Service Insurance System premises. Matibag said the NBI has pledged full cooperation with a DOJ-convened fact-finding panel investigating both incidents.
In a parallel effort, the NBI has already provided the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police with sworn statements from all NBI personnel who were present at the GSIS compound on the night of May 13. The bureau also granted the CIDG full access to video recordings, radio communications, and other materials tied to operations between May 11 and 13.
Matibag framed the agency’s posture as one committed to “transparent, truthful, and orderly inquiry,” signaling that the NBI intends to defend both its legal authority to act and its conduct during the events that preceded the Senate shooting.
Source: Official statement of NBI Director Melvin Matibag. This report is based solely on publicly issued government communications. No copyrighted material has been reproduced.
