Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, touted as the architect of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “War on Drugs” campaign, trended on X (formerly Twitter) as the public searched for him following Duterte’s arrest based on the International Criminal Court’s warrant.
READ: Factbox: What happened in Philippine drug war that led to Duterte’s arrest?
The former president was arrested by the Philippine National Police upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday, March 11, after returning from a trip to Hong Kong.
The Palace confirmed that Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) Manila had received the arrest warrant for Duterte related to crimes against humanity.
When he was still in office, Duterte unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s founding treaty in 2019, following the court’s investigation into allegations of systematic extrajudicial killings (EJK) tied to his brutal “War on Drugs” campaign
Until last year, the Philippines refused to cooperate with the ICC in the investigation.
Duterte’s “War on Drugs” became his signature policy after he rose to power in 2016, following a vitriolic, crime-busting presidential campaign where he vowed to kill drug dealers.
Human rights groups argue that police and vigilantes, operating under his direction, systematically murdered unarmed drug suspects on a massive scale during his administration. These allegations have been denied by authorities.
Some Filipinos, including forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun, who has helped families of those victimized by the EJK, have expressed gratitude to the ICC following the former president’s arrest.
RELATED: ‘Thank you, ICC’: Pinoys express gratitude after Duterte’s arrest over drug war crimes
Others have mentioned the name of Duterte’s top cop, who was responsible for implementing the “War on Drugs” campaign, and are now wondering if there are any updates regarding Dela Rosa, who is currently serving as a lawmaker.
“Has anyone checked if Bato is okay?” veteran journalist Lynda Jumilla-Abalos asked on X.
“Si Rodrigo Duterte ang unang Filipino na kinasuhan ng krimen laban sa sangkatauhan. Ang anak niyang si Sara ang unang Bise Presidente ng Filipinas na na-impeach. Si Bong Go ang unang Senador na nag-deliver ng pizza sa amo niya. Si Bato? Missing in action, iyacc [iyak], next na siya,” writer Jerry Grácio said.
“Naglabas na ba ng statement si Sen. Ronald Bato Dela Rosa?” radio host DJ Chacha also asked.
“Tahimik yata si Bato. Wer na u [Where na you]? Lols!” another online user wrote.
A Facebook account posting political memes also posted a picture of Dela Rosa crying and captioned it: “S**t susunod na ‘ko.”
“Oh no,” the Malacañang Events and Catering Services page wrote.
The post has earned 56,000 laughing reactions, 15,000 shares, and 1,000 comments so far.
As of writing, “Bato” is one of the top 13 trending keywords in the Philippines on the X platform.
Screengrab of the trending keywords in the Philippines on the X (formerly Twitter) platform as of March 11, 2025 (Screengrab by Interaksyon)
Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police at the height of the Duterte administration’s “War on Drugs.”
As the top cop before, he implemented the operation and was the reported architect of the bloody initiative.
Being heavily involved in Duterte’s flagship campaign, Dela Rosa tagged himself as the “number two accused” in the ICC’s probe before.
Dela Rosa had worked closely with Duterte when the latter was still the mayor of Davao City.
Between 2012 and 2013, Dela Rosa implemented the “Oplan Tokhang” in the city as its police chief.
It was an anti-drug campaign that saw police officers scour neighborhoods to apprehend suspected drug dealers and users.
When he was appointed PNP chief, Dela Rosa applied the same strategy and deployed undercover stings called “buy-bust operations” on a national scale.
— with reports from Reuters
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