The International Criminal Court last week unsealed an arrest warrant accusing Dela Rosa, Duterte and other alleged co-perpetrators of committing the “crime against humanity of murder” during the Philippines’ crackdown on illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa, who briefly remained inside the Philippine Senate last week while contesting the warrant, petitioned the Supreme Court to block government efforts to detain him.

In a filing dated May 16, Solicitor-General Darlene Berberabe argued that Dela Rosa had effectively placed himself “outside the protection of the law” and urged the court to dismiss his petition.

“Until he submits himself to lawful authorities, he must be deemed a fugitive from justice and should not be allowed to seek any relief from the courts,” the filing said.

Authorities said Dela Rosa quietly left the Senate building on Thursday, and his whereabouts were not immediately known.

The Philippine justice department said on Friday that authorities would defer serving the ICC warrant until the Supreme Court ruled on Dela Rosa’s petition, unless officials determined he was attempting to leave the country.

The Supreme Court did not immediately comment on the government filing.

Dela Rosa has argued the ICC warrant is invalid because the Philippines withdrew in 2019 from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court.
Berberabe said in the filing that withdrawal from the treaty “does not relieve a state party from cooperating in proceedings already initiated before the ICC.”

The ICC prosecutor opened a preliminary examination into the Philippines’ anti-drug campaign in 2018 after rights groups and activists alleged widespread extrajudicial killings during Duterte’s presidency.
Thousands of people, including suspected drug users and low-level dealers, were killed during the campaign launched after Duterte took office in 2016, according to human rights organizations.

Duterte was arrested in March last year and transferred to The Hague, where he remains in detention awaiting trial before the ICC.

Dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018 before entering politics. He was elected to the Senate in 2019 and retained his seat in the 2025 midterm elections.

Dela Rosa, a former national police chief and one of the principal architects of Duterte’s war on drugs, has remained inside the Philippine Senate building for a third consecutive day after Senate leaders blocked attempts by authorities to serve an ICC arrest warrant.

The senator, widely known by his nickname “Bato,” faces accusations of crimes against humanity, specifically murder, alongside Duterte and other alleged co-perpetrators linked to the anti-narcotics crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead.
“I am not appealing for violent support.

I am appealing for peaceful support,” Dela Rosa told reporters, urging military personnel and fellow graduates of the Philippine Military Academy to publicly oppose any move by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration to surrender him to international authorities.

Outside the Senate complex in Manila, approximately 500 riot police were deployed as several hundred demonstrators gathered to demand Dela Rosa’s arrest and extradition to the ICC. Protesters described him as a central figure in the deadly anti-drug campaign launched during Duterte’s presidency.

Dela Rosa served as Philippine police chief from 2016 to 2018, overseeing the early and most intense phase of Duterte’s crackdown on narcotics. Human rights organizations and international investigators have alleged that many of those killed were low-level drug suspects and users.

Duterte himself was arrested in March last year and transferred to The Hague on the same day, where he remains in detention awaiting trial before the ICC.

Dela Rosa had largely avoided public appearances since November before resurfacing this week during a Senate vote that enabled Duterte-aligned lawmakers to secure leadership control of the chamber.

The Senate’s new leadership has stated it would permit Dela Rosa’s arrest only if directed by a Philippine court rather than solely on the basis of the ICC warrant.

A spokesperson for Marcos said on Tuesday that the president would not interfere in Senate decisions regarding the matter.

The Philippine Supreme Court has yet to rule on Dela Rosa’s petition seeking to block the government from enforcing the ICC arrest order.

The artwork, “Portrait of a Young Girl” by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, was identified as part of the famed collection of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, whose holdings were systematically seized by Nazi officials after he fled the Netherlands in 1940.Brand said the painting had likely remained for decades in the possession of descendants of Hendrik Seyffardt, one of the Netherlands’ most prominent wartime Nazi collaborators.

The discovery emerged after a family member of Seyffardt contacted Brand, revealing both his family connection and the presence of the painting inside the household of Seyffardt’s granddaughter. The individual, who requested anonymity, said relatives were aware the painting was considered looted property connected to the Goudstikker collection.

According to Brand, the painting carried a Goudstikker inventory label on the reverse side as well as the number 92 carved into its frame. Brand said archival research into a 1940 auction of confiscated Goudstikker works confirmed that item 92 corresponded to “Portrait of a Young Girl.”

The case has drawn renewed attention to the vast scale of Nazi-era art looting and the lingering difficulty heirs face in reclaiming stolen works more than eight decades after World War II.Hermann Goering seized Goudstikker’s collection after the dealer escaped to England during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

Thousands of artworks passed through Nazi hands during the war, with many later dispersed through auctions, private collections and museums.Brand said he believed Seyffardt acquired the painting during the 1940 auction before it was handed down through generations of his family.

Seyffardt commanded a Dutch Waffen-SS unit fighting on the Eastern Front and was assassinated by Dutch resistance fighters in 1943. His death received international attention at the time, including coverage on the front page of The New York Times, and Nazi authorities staged a state funeral in The Hague attended by senior officials.

Lawyers representing the Goudstikker heirs have confirmed the painting was looted and are seeking its return, Brand said.The descendant who disclosed the painting’s existence also supports restitution, according to interviews published by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, saying the artwork rightfully belongs to the Goudstikker family.

Dutch authorities, however, face legal limitations in recovering the work. Brand said criminal prosecution is no longer possible because the statute of limitations has expired, while the Dutch Restitution Committee lacks authority to compel private owners to surrender disputed artworks.

Brand, known internationally for recovering stolen and looted art, said the discovery stood apart from previous investigations involving works traced to major museums and private collections.“Discovering a painting from the famous Goudstikker collection, in the possession of the heirs of a notorious Dutch Waffen-SS general, truly tops everything,” he said.

Judges said the reparations would mainly take the form of collective rehabilitation measures, including educational programs, vocational training and psychological support, with particular focus on women and girls who suffered persecution under the religious police overseen by Al Hassan.

Al Hassan was convicted in June 2024 on eight counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for helping run the morality police established by the Ansar Dine Islamist group after militants seized Timbuktu, a historic desert city in northern Mali.

The court said women and girls were among the worst affected because their daily lives were tightly controlled under the group’s strict interpretation of sharia law. They were required to wear specific clothing and could leave their homes only under strict conditions, leading many to fear going outdoors.

Judges found that Al Hassan took part in or was present during public floggings and other punishments carried out by the religious police, which caused severe trauma to both victims and witnesses.Because Al Hassan is unable to personally pay the reparations, judges asked the ICC’s Trust Fund for Victims to help finance the compensation measures.

The fund has until January next year to submit an implementation plan for judicial approval.Reparations are a formal part of ICC proceedings following convictions, and the court currently has five other active reparation orders being administered through the Trust Fund for Victims.

Al Hassan was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Having already spent around six years in custody before his conviction, he is expected to be released soon.The ICC, the world’s only permanent war crimes tribunal, has been investigating crimes committed in Mali since 2012, when Islamist armed groups linked to Ansar Dine took control of northern cities including Timbuktu.

French and Malian forces later recaptured the city in 2013.

Speaking at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Guterres said violations of international law were increasingly visible at a time when the global system is under strain and power dynamics are shifting. He stressed that adherence to legal norms was “more important than ever” amid growing geopolitical tensions.

The commemorative session, attended by Willem-Alexander, highlighted both the legacy and current pressures facing the court, which adjudicates disputes between states. Guterres noted that the ICJ is currently handling a rising number of cases, reflecting both its relevance and the complexity of contemporary conflicts.

Recent high-profile proceedings include a case brought by South Africa against Israel alleging violations of the Genocide Convention in Gaza, as well as a landmark environmental advisory opinion issued last year that clarified states’ obligations on climate change and opened the possibility of reparations for non-compliance.

Despite its central role, Guterres said institutions such as the ICJ are increasingly being “questioned and challenged,” with erosion of respect for international law occurring not at the margins but “at the core” of the global system, including among states tasked with maintaining international peace and security.

He reiterated that ICJ rulings are legally binding under the UN Charter, even though the court lacks enforcement mechanisms, a limitation frequently cited by critics. He pointed to the court’s order directing Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine, which was not followed, as an example of the gap between legal authority and political compliance.

Yuji Iwasawa echoed these concerns, warning of “troubling signs” of countries questioning multilateralism and the role of law in international relations. He said such trends place significant pressure on the global legal framework and underscore the fragility of the system.

Guterres framed the moment as a broader choice facing the international community between a rules-based order and one shaped by power politics, emphasizing that respect for international law remains a foundational obligation for all UN member states.