Intense fury gripped the families of victims of the Duterte regime’s fake drug war over reports that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa escaped from the Senate building. This happened amid attempts to arrest him under the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued for his role in the said “war.”

“The brazenness and incompetence of the Marcos administration are infuriating. That Bato dela Rosa escaped from the Senate is unforgivable,” said Llore Pasco, mother of war victims Crisanto and Juan Carlos Lozano.

Dahlia Cuartero, mother of victim Jesus Cuartero III, said all of Dela Rosa’s and the Duterte family’s accomplices inside the Senate must also be held accountable. She insisted the escape further exposed that these senators do not serve the people but only their selfish political interests.

The chaos in the Senate on May 12, which culminated with Bato’s escape, began when Senate guards announced they were going to “make an arrest.” The announcement was followed by successive gunshots inside the building, which were later claimed to have been between the Senate security personnel and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents. A day earlier, a chase ensued inside the Senate a day when the NBI attempted to execute the ICC warrant on Bato. Instead of respecting the process, Bato’s allied senators refused to transfer him to NBI custody and instead placed him under the Senate’s “protective custody.”

With the media personnel then inside the Senate, many suspected that the shooting and chaos were a “staged diversion” to create confusion and panic. Bato exploited this to slip out of the closely guarded and police-surrounded Senate building. Senate President Alan Cayetano later admitted that Bato had “left” the Senate and again could not be located, effectively returning to hiding to evade accountability for justice.

The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives strongly condemned the escape and also doubted that the shooting was anything but a diversion. The bloc said allowing an individual facing crimes against humanity escape is proof of impunity in the country.

“This is not a mere procedural lapse. This is a national embarrassment and a clear demonstration of how impunity works in practice when the accused is powerful and well-connected,” the group’s lawmakers said. “While the one who must be held accountable hides, the families of victims continue to carry the weight of killings and the absence of justice.”

They said Bato’s escape further revealed a rotten political system suffused with the wealthy’s defense of its self-interests, patronage networks, and accommodations among ruling-class factions.

That afternoon, progressive groups held a protest at Welcome Rotunda, Quezon City against the coddling of the fugitive Bato. Protesters included members of Kilusang Mayo Uno, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Kabataan Partylist. The same groups also went to the Senate on May 11 to demand Bato’s immediate arrest and the continuation of impeachment proceedings against Sara Duterte.