11 articles
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said negotiations are ongoing to arrest Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who has evaded an International Criminal Court warrant since May, but warned a full police operation could turn deadly.
A Pasig court issued warrants against Guo and 11 co-accused on three counts of graft tied to the trafficking-linked Baofu Compound offshore gaming hub in Bamban, Tarlac — adding to the life sentence for human trafficking and a ₱1.008-billion tax evasion case she already faces.
The Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to the Senate Secretariat and the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office as part of an obstruction investigation tied to the failed attempt to serve the ICC arrest warrant on fugitive Senator Ronald dela Rosa — while the NBI warns more international warrants are imminent against other drug war perpetrators.
Contractor Pacifico "Curlee" Discaya II was taken into PNP custody on June 8 and moved to the Bulacan Provincial Jail after a court ordered his arrest on a non-bailable malversation charge tied to a ₱53.9-million flood control project in Calumpit — ending nearly nine months of Senate detention and turning a once-cooperative witness into a co-accused.
The Sandiganbayan's Second Division on May 29 issued arrest warrants and hold-departure orders against Senator Jinggoy Estrada and former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan for their alleged roles in a ₱573-million kickback scheme tied to fraudulent flood control budget insertions — with Estrada immediately posting the ₱90,000 bail on the graft charge while remaining at large on the non-bailable plunder count pending the court's action.
With the Supreme Court refusing to block the ICC arrest warrant and the DOJ declaring Dela Rosa a fugitive, the Philippine National Police mobilized specialized tracker units on May 22 to hunt down the senator — who confirmed intelligence shows is still inside the country.
In a 9-5-1 vote on May 20, the Supreme Court refused to issue a temporary restraining order shielding Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa from the ICC warrant for crimes against humanity — prompting the Department of Justice to declare the following day that his arrest can now proceed without a local court order.
The Office of the Solicitor General filed an 83-page comment urging the Supreme Court to dismiss Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa's bid to block his ICC arrest, arguing Philippine law already authorizes enforcement of the warrant and that dela Rosa's conduct since the warrant surfaced makes him a fugitive from justice.
Gunshots rang out at the Philippine Senate on Wednesday evening as armed personnel forcefully breached a gate at the GSIS compound, where Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa has been holed up to evade an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed the shooting, while the NBI denied involvement.
The ICC warrant against Senator Bato dela Rosa exists, is authentic, and covers crimes the ICC has jurisdiction over. But whether it can be executed in the Philippines without a Philippine court's verification first is a constitutional question the Supreme Court has never ruled on — and the answer affects every Filipino, not just Duterte allies.
