Fact Check: False Claims of Bato dela Rosa's Arrest Circulate Online

False claims are circulating online that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is reportedly wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been arrested in a hotel in Davao City. The posts feature a video of Dela Rosa being swarmed by journalists as he enters an elevator, with captions such as “BREAKING NEWS: Bato Dela Rosa was caught in a private hotel in Davao City!” However, several government agencies and minority senators have debunked these reports. The Department of Justice (DOJ) stated in a press briefing on August 4 that it has not received any official information confirming Dela Rosa’s arrest. On the same day, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag confirmed to the media that no such arrest had been made and that the manhunt for Dela Rosa is ongoing. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla also stated that the Philippine National Police has no information regarding the senator’s arrest. Fellow minority bloc senators Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla also told the media they had no information on the matter. Furthermore, on August 5, Malacañang denied rumors of the senator’s supposed arrest, calling it a “diversionary tactic” to distract the public from the ongoing impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. The false claims spread during a period when the trial was addressing the Commission on Audit’s findings on Duterte’s use of confidential funds. Some of the false posts misuse an old video of Dela Rosa’s appearance at the Senate on May 13, before he went into hiding. The video was originally posted with a caption describing the situation as Senator Bato dela Rosa exits the Session Hall tonight, before a shootout happened inside the building. The spread of these false claims began after Dela Rosa’s counsel, Jimmy Bondoc, made a cryptic Facebook post stating, “Bad news is coming. Pray hard that it is not true, for the good of the nation.” This post was later deleted after several government agencies denied reports of the senator’s arrest. Dela Rosa has been in hiding since the ICC unsealed its arrest warrant against him on May 11. The senator is a former national police chief under former President Rodrigo Duterte. The arrest warrant was issued over allegations of crimes against humanity, specifically murder, due to his involvement in Duterte’s bloody drug war. Pro-Duterte accounts have been actively spreading other false claims related to Dela Rosa since the issuance of his arrest warrant. Rappler has previously fact-checked and debunked posts claiming Dela Rosa was not at recent rallies, misusing news reports to claim the ICC arrest warrant was fake, and that the Supreme Court had issued an order blocking Dela Rosa’s arrest by the ICC. Source: Rappler Philippines