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Philippine Sen Bato dela Rosa’s hiding may harm Duterte’s interim ICC release: human rights lawyer
Aside from Duterte’s medical and physical state, the ICC may also be worried about granting him temporary liberty after Bato dela Rosa went into hiding again, a human rights lawyer told Khaleej Times
- PUBLISHED: Sun 17 May 2026, 5:07 PM
The decision of Philippine senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa to go into hiding again and evade the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), may harm ex-president Rodrigo Duterte’s plea for an ICC interim release, a Filipino human rights lawyer said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times over the weekend, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) president Ephraim Cortez explained dela Rosa’s continuing resistance from a lawful arrest order is enough reason to deny the petition made to the ICC by Peter Haynes, Duterte’s new defence counsel.
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“Whilst a determination of Mr. Duterte’s competence was undertaken during the pre-trial phase on the basis of written reports, his condition continues to deteriorate and will need more fully to be reviewed before any trial may commence,” Haynes said.
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Aside from Duterte’s medical and physical state, however, the ICC may also be worried about granting the accused temporary liberty because of dela Rosa’s escape, Cortez pointed out.
He noted: “The recent incident in which the Senate provided Sen. Dela Rosa with protective custody and later allowed him to escape to avoid arrest is sufficient grounds to deny the interim release."
“This is an indication that Duterte may use the interim release as an opportunity to avoid prosecution, and Senator Dela Rosa is an indication that the Dutertes still have strong political clout that will put him in a position to influence and/or intimidate witnesses,” added Cortez, whose group provides pro-bono assistance to some of the complainants against Duterte and his co-conspirators like dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa is named a co-conspirator in the crimes of humanity trial against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against him November last year but kept it under seal while dela Rosa was hiding. The warrant was made public on May 11, when he reappeared.
Duterte's plea
Haynes recently made his first move as Duterte's new chief legal tactician by asking the ICC to revisit the issue of the former strongman’s fitness to stand trial, citing alleged deterioration of his condition.
“Whilst a determination of Mr. Duterte’s competence was undertaken during the pre-trial phase on the basis of written reports, his condition continues to deteriorate and will need more fully to be reviewed before any trial may commence,” Haynes said.
Under Rule 118 of the ICC Rules of Procedures, ICC’s resolution on any application for Duterte’s interim release is subject to review every 120 days. This is to determine whether there is a change of circumstances that will justify the grant of interim release, or to affirm continued detention.
Duterte’s lawyers can use the periodic review to apply for an interim release by showing a change in circumstances that justify such an application. If proven by ICC-accredited medical professionals that his health did indeed turn for the worse, he may be granted temporary release on humanitarian grounds.
In his last act in behalf of Duterte, his former lawyer Nicholas Kaufman made a last bid for his temporary release on medical grounds. In his final submission to Trial Chamber III on May 8, Kaufman cited Duterte's short-term memory loss and increased risk of falls in detention as new "change in circumstances" to warrant temporary liberty to another country.
The filing was submitted right before Kaufman formally withdrew as Duterte's lead defense counsel on May 11. His replacement, Haynes, made his first appeal along the same request.