In November 2025, newly appointed Ombudsman Boying Remulla claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa in relation to his involvement in Duterte’s war on drugs as police chief. But as of writing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is in the process of verifying the warrant and the ICC has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
Nonetheless, it’s easy to tell how Dela Rosa might respond to such an arrest considering his past. Integrity can be found in how a person responds to accusations—one either faces these threats head-on, or they flee in fear. When it comes to Dela Rosa, however, he would most likely choose to flee, and this is something he admitted himself.
After the ICC’s arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, rumors stirred up of a possible warrant against Dela Rosa. Then, in March 2025, he revealed that he considered hiding in the Senate to evade accountability. Let’s not forget that thousands of Filipinos were killed during the drug war, including the killing of a three-year-old child named Myca Ulpina. Referring to the incident, Dela Rosa notoriously said, “Shit happens!” And now, the same people responsible for these atrocities are acting as if they are the victims, cowering away from scrutiny.
Dela Rosa’s hypocrisy appears to go deeper. Amid Ombudsman Remulla’s revelation about the ICC warrant, on November 13, he made a post on Facebook thanking his spiritual adviser, Father Cianno Ubod for offering him guidance. One can only assume what he meant by it, but to the public, it seems as if he was washing his bloodstained hands. An innocent person would’ve stood up and proved their case—but for Dela Rosa, there has yet to be an initiative to hold himself accountable. Instead, he painted a picture that absolved himself of all the responsibility.
Even more glaringly, on November 12 and 13 (the same day of the post), Dela Rosa filed two motions to the Supreme Court in response to the warrant against him. The first one demanded Remulla to provide the exact warrant of arrest, and the second questioned its legality, essentially asking due process. The court denied the motion and instead requested comments from Ombudsman Remulla and other government agencies. Nevertheless, it was a bold move, which further showed cracks on Dela Rosa’s part. It’s easy to see that in the first place, he never truly cared about protecting justice and “due process.” If he did, he wouldn’t be on the side of the Dutertes and thousands wouldn’t have been killed under a war where Dela Rosa was the “chief architect.” His demand for fair proceedings was nothing more than a plea for his own benefit.
Clearly, there are double standards. When Duterte and his goons are brought into questioning, they suddenly transform into innocent bystanders—they hide behind a pure image, and weaponize their popularity to avoid accountability by riling up the public and forming a culture of cult-like fanaticism. This is where the populist strategy comes in.
Running as senator, Dela Rosa won 20 million votes during the 2025 midterm elections, but since he won a seat, his loyalty went to Duterte. This is the outcome of populism—people and officials fool themselves into blindly serving and fighting for someone above them, and it’s working! As a result, a new culture emerged—where the murders of fellow Filipinos were celebrated, where the killing of a child was brushed off, where rape was played for laughs, and Duterte was the king. Now, facing a supposed arrest warrant, Dela Rosa and an army of supporters are demanding due process—not for genuine victims of abuse, but for himself. Regardless of the warrant’s legitimacy, there are too many red flags that continue to be downplayed—for how long should this cycle be tolerated?
Populism undermines the people’s passion for freedom in exchange for a false sense of belonging and dependence. Duterte, Dela Rosa, and everyone under their camp, left a dangerous legacy that could culminate in another set of rulers with the same oppressive ideals. Thus, there is a greater need to abolish populism and replace it with principles that are based on empowering the people and promoting social welfare.
Despite polarization, each and every person’s needs are not so different from one another—if we keep realizing this, we can exemplify what defines “pakikisama” as a Pinoy ideal and break free from the control of power-hungry and violent figures. Corruption is as clear as day, and it’s part of our responsibility to eliminate it—but it can only be done if we stop ourselves from participating under the orders of a hivemind.
