Handa ang Gobyerno: Marcos Administration Says It Will Arrest Bato, Bong Go If ICC Issues Warrants
The Marcos administration has put both Senators Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa and Christopher "Bong" Go on notice — if the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants against them, the Philippine government is legally obligated to comply and will do so. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro made the declaration at a press briefing, drawing a direct parallel to how the government handled the surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague last year: "Our government coordinated with Interpol, which is why former president Duterte was sent to The Hague. It has been done before and we followed the law."
Dela Rosa and Go were among eight current and former officials named by the ICC as co-perpetrators in the crimes against humanity case against Duterte. The full list also includes former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II; former PNP generals Oscar Albayalde, Vicente Danao, and the late Camilo Cascolan — who passed away from a lingering illness in 2023; former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Isidro Lapeña; and former NBI director Dante Gierran. According to the ICC, the group wielded "de facto authority" and "shared a common plan to 'neutralize' criminals" through violent crimes including murder.
The government's position is clear but conditional: warrants must actually be issued before any arrests can be made. Castro said there is currently no order from The Hague in hand, so there is no immediate need to monitor the named co-perpetrators. However, she stressed that once warrants arrive — coursed through Interpol as was done with Duterte — implementation is not optional. "Once arrest warrants have been issued, they must be implemented," she said flatly in Filipino. She also called on all the accused to face the charges against them if they are truly innocent.
The development puts dela Rosa in an especially precarious position. Of all those named, only his whereabouts have become uncertain — he has not attended Senate sessions since November 2025, reportedly after word leaked that the ICC had been considering his apprehension. Go, meanwhile, has publicly denied wrongdoing and has continued attending Senate proceedings. Duterte's political party, the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP), condemned the ICC's naming of the senators as co-perpetrators as a "derogation" of Philippine sovereignty. Castro rejected that framing entirely, pointing out that the case was filed at the ICC long before President Marcos Jr. took office.
Legal experts note that this case has no modern precedent in Philippine history — a sitting senator potentially facing an international arrest warrant while still technically holding office. The Senate's position on how it would respond to such an order remains unclear, and constitutional questions about immunity and due process are already being raised. For the families of thousands who died in the drug war, however, the prospect of accountability — however slow — is deeply significant. Ang hustisya, hindi nagmamadali — pero hindi rin tumitigil. Source: Manila Times, ABS-CBN News, Rappler, Philstar.com, Tribune
