By Marjuice Destinado
Claim: The International Criminal Court (ICC) no longer has jurisdiction over the Philippine drug war cases involving former President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Rating: False.
Impact on the community: False claims like this mislead the public into believing that accountability for human rights violations during Duterte’s bloody war on drugs is no longer possible.
Context and facts: The ICC affirmed jurisdiction over alleged crimes against humanity committed during Duterte’s drug war. In a unanimous ruling on October 23, 2025, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber said that it can act on offenses “committed on the territory of the Philippines while it was a state party” from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.
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The decision directly contradicts claims from ICC-accredited counsel and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque who insisted the Court “lost jurisdiction” over cases involving Duterte and Dela Rosa, and that any arrest must follow Philippine extradition rules. These assertions are false.
Although the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC took effect in March 2019, judges said that Article 127(2) of the Rome Statute prevents a departing state from escaping scrutiny. Withdrawal, they said, does not cancel accountability for crimes already under examination, and allowing it to do so would undermine the Statute’s core purpose of preventing impunity.
The chamber also rejected Duterte’s argument that the ICC could not proceed because the formal investigation was authorized only in September 2021, two years after the withdrawal. The judges clarified that the “matter under consideration” began in 2018 when the preliminary examination into drug war killings was opened and continued uninterrupted into the current investigation.
The claim resurfaced as Dela Rosa — long identified by rights groups as a chief architect of the drug war — came under ICC scrutiny. Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest though the Court has yet to confirm it.
Families of drug war victims and human rights groups said that any warrant must be implemented without obstruction. “Bato deserves to be imprisoned alongside Duterte. Just like his boss, Bato ordered the killing of our loved ones without any remorse.” said Llore Pasco who lost two children to the drug war.
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ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti also said that no official — whether senator or former president — can claim immunity before the ICC, and that extradition rules do not apply because “the ICC is not a country.”
Proper ICC procedure involves arrest under domestic law, identity verification, due process, and transfer to the Court’s detention facility. Claims that the ICC would “abduct” Dela Rosa, similar to Duterte, ignore these established procedures.
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Dela Rosa’s record of human rights violations extends beyond the Duterte era. As a junior lieutenant in Davao City in 1986, he supervised the anti-communist militia Tadtad, notorious for beheadings of suspected communists.
Under Duterte, Dela Rosa’s role as PNP chief operationalized the nationwide drug war, overseeing killings linked to both the Davao Death Squad and Oplan Tokhang barangay clearance operations.
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Rights advocates said that accountability is long overdue. “If the Senate shields him from arrest, it becomes complicit in harboring a criminal. There is no dignity in protecting perpetrators of mass murder and repression,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay. (DAA)
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