Chaos in Philippines as Duterte ally wanted by ICC takes refuge in senate to avoid arrest

T he unusual pursuit was captured on CCTV cameras inside the Philippine senate. Ronald dela Rosa, a longtime ally of the former president Rodrigo Duterte , raced along the hallways of the upper house complex, stumbling on the staircase, as he fled government agents. “They want to forcibly bring me to The Hague, to surrender me there,” Dela Rosa said later on a Facebook livestream, pleading for public support. He served as police chief under Duterte and is named as a co-perpetrator in a case at the international criminal court (ICC) accusing the former leader of crimes against humanity over his anti-drugs crackdowns, in which thousands of people were killed. The ICC confirmed on Monday night it had issued an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa. By evening, barbed wire and riot police surrounded the senate compound. The national union of journalists in the Philippines issued a statement calling for calm, saying media workers had been blocked from leaving or entering the complex. Dela Rosa slept at the senate office overnight after its new president, Alan Peter Cayetano, another Duterte ally, announced it was offering protective custody. Dela Rosa has previously denied any wrongdoing. Rodrigo Duterte and his police chief Ronald Dela Rosa at a press conference in 2017. …