A TikTok video is claiming that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has been captured in Davao City and immediately whisked away to The Hague, Netherlands amid an active warrant against him from the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity tied to the drug war. This is false.
Posted on Aug. 5 by a TikTok account claiming to be an online news outlet, the “breaking news” graphic bore a stolen composite photo of dela Rosa’s profile and a picture of him being emotional, originally made and published by Inquirer.net. The following text was overlaid on it:
“Arestado na si Bato Dela Rosa sa Davao City at inilipad na sa ICC!
MANILA, Philippines — Kumpirmadong nadakip si Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa sa isang tagagong (sic) private hotel sa Davao City at mabilisang inilipad patungong The Hague, Netherlands upang harapin ang mga kaso sa International Criminal Court.
(Bato dela Rosa arrested in Davao City, flown to the ICC!
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was confirmed arrested at a hidden private hotel in Davao City and was immediately flown to The Hague, Netherlands, to face charges before the International Criminal Court.)”
Several government agencies debunked the unverified claims.
In an Aug. 4 press briefing, the Department of Justice dismissed reports of dela Rosa’s supposed arrest.
On Aug. 5, Director Melvin Matibag of the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the agency has not apprehended the fugitive lawmaker, adding that its manhunt operation for dela Rosa is ongoing.
In a separate media interview, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that, “On behalf of the [Philippine National Police], we would like to confirm categorically that as of 6:00 p.m. last night (Aug. 4), there’s been no arrest for Senator Bato.”
He also dispelled speculation that dela Rosa had been whisked away to The Hague, noting that the fugitive senator’s last known location was in Mindanao.
For its part, PNP chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police are monitoring locations linked to the lawmaker’s friends, relatives and other close companions, believing that “most probably he is still in the Philippines.”
ICC: No confirmation
As of press time, the ICC has not released any public statements, news releases, or filings on the status of dela Rosa’s crime against humanity of murder allegedly committed at least between July 3, 2016 and April 2018, which resulted in at least 32 deaths. The embattled senator was the chief enforcer of the drug war campaign during the regime of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, who currently awaits his own ICC trial.
VERA Files reached out to the Public Affairs Unit of the ICC for comment on the spurious claims spreading in the local online space and whether there have been current efforts or cooperation between the court and the Philippine government regarding Dela Rosa’s case.
“We are not currently offering comments on the matter,” the Hague-based tribunal said in an Aug. 6 email response.
The rumors surfaced following the cryptic posts from dela Rosa’s counsel, Jimmy Bondoc, and a known ally, Harry Roque, with the latter specifically claiming that “someone reportedly betrayed Bato.”
Originally published by TikTok account juanrepubliconlinenews, the video with untrue claims received 3,992 interactions and was viewed over 240,000 times. A netizen reposted the fraudulent graphic on Facebook.
