PNP intensifies manhunt for Senator Bato dela Rosa after ICC warrant surrender deadline lapses

Police have formed teams in every region to arrest Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa after a one-week surrender deadline lapsed on 30 October, while his lawyer argues there is no Interpol red notice. Dela Rosa faces an ICC warrant over alleged drug-war killings.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is intensifying its manhunt for Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa after a one-week deadline for him to surrender lapsed on Friday, 30 October 2026. Dela Rosa, a former national police chief, is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the Duterte administration's war on drugs.

On 23 October the PNP gave Dela Rosa a week to surrender, after the Department of the Interior and Local Government offered a P50-million reward for his arrest. The Department of Justice and the Solicitor General have declared him a fugitive from justice.

Teams in every region

Police Lt. Gen. Wilson Joseph Lopez, PNP deputy chief for administration and head of the task force set up to locate Dela Rosa, said the PNP had reorganised the task force into teams per region. OneNews.PH reported task groups in all 18 regions, with tracker teams from police regional offices mobilised to arrest the senator. "Let me declare, we will not back down from our duty," Lopez told reporters on Friday, adding that police would take "appropriate" legal measures.

Lopez appealed to Dela Rosa to surrender peacefully to avoid bloodshed from a potential armed encounter. He said the senator has never sent surrender feelers to the government, but that police remain open to his surrender. "The door is always open," he said, as reported by ABS-CBN News.

Lopez said Dela Rosa is still in the Philippines, based on coordination with the Bureau of Immigration, and that police have beefed up security at the country's borders, particularly in Mindanao. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, citing intelligence reports, has said Dela Rosa is hiding in Mindanao under the protection of a powerful armed group; Lopez said that information is still being validated. The PNP opened a round-the-clock hotline after the bounty was announced, and Lopez said the hotlines have been swamped with information on Dela Rosa's whereabouts, with each piece of information to be evaluated.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said he had directed all personnel "to remain professional, respect human rights and exercise maximum restraint". National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag said a full manhunt, including the establishment of checkpoints, would be logical following the lapse of the deadline.

Lawyer disputes Interpol basis

Dela Rosa's lawyer, Israelito Torreon, said the PNP has no basis for the manhunt because Interpol has not issued a "red notice" for the senator, saying a colleague had confirmed he is not on Interpol's red notice list. Torreon admitted they have yet to secure a certification or written statement from Interpol to confirm this. The Department of Justice earlier said the ICC warrant is enforceable following the application for the issuance of a red notice. According to the Inquirer, when former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in Manila in March 2025 there was also no red notice; Anthony Alcantara of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime said authorities had obtained a "diffusion notice", which he described as "the same" as a red notice.

In May, the Supreme Court denied Dela Rosa's bid for a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest, and it still has to rule on his petition to have the ICC arrest warrant declared illegal. On Wednesday, Dela Rosa asked the Supreme Court to stop his arrest, saying the government bounty placed on his head put his life in "serious danger".

The ICC warrant

The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I unsealed the warrant on 11 May 2026; it had originally been issued as secret on 6 November 2025. The ICC alleges Dela Rosa is criminally responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder, at least between 3 July 2016 and the end of April 2018, during which no less than 32 persons were killed. Dela Rosa was Chief of the PNP from 1 July 2016 to 19 April 2018. He went into hiding in November 2025, surfaced at the Senate on 11 May 2026, and escaped its protective custody days later. Duterte, who denies the allegations against him, is scheduled to stand trial at the ICC in The Hague on 30 November.

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