More than half, or 58.1%, of Filipino adults think it is important for the Philippine government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sen. Bato Dela Rosa’s arrest in relation to his alleged involvement in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, the October 2026 National Momentum survey found.

The non-commissioned survey, conducted from October 16 to 19, found that only a third (33.2%) of Filipinos consider it unimportant for the Philippine government to coordinate with the ICC to ensure Dela Rosa’s arrest.

A combined 8.7% of Filipinos did not express their preference, with 5.9% saying they are unsure and 2.8% refusing to answer.

This aligns with another finding that 52.2% of Filipino adults believe the government should assist in arresting other suspected co-perpetrators involved in the drug war, such as Sen. Bong Go and former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde, who are both staunch supporters and key political allies of the former president.

While more agree that cooperation is necessary, 38.6% of Filipino adults think the Philippines should not help with the arrest of the alleged drug war co-perpetrators. Another 6.8% are unsure and 2.3% refuse to answer.

The ICC issued the arrest warrant for Dela Rosa on Nov. 6, 2025 and unsealed the warrant on May 11, 2026. The charges brought against him are crimes against humanity of murder, acting as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in connection with the murder of at least 32 people during the peak of the Duterte admin’s war on drugs.

From November 2025 to May 2026, Dela Rosa was out of public view and only briefly resurfaced on May 11, 2026, the same day his warrant was unsealed, to provide the crucial 13th vote that made Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano Senate president for a brief time. He was later placed under the Senate’s protective custody that same day.

On May 14, 2026, however, Dela Rosa slipped out of the Senate complex during a tense gunfire incident. Since then, the senator has been in hiding, and now the Philippine government has offered a P50-million bounty for his arrest.

Importance of gov’t cooperation highest among Pro-Opposition

Along partisan lines, those who identify as Pro-Opposition1 (79.4%) are the most likely to consider it important for the Philippine government to coordinate with the ICC regarding Dela Rosa’s arrest. This is followed by Pro-Marcos (74.5%) and Independent adults (64.0%).

As an ally of the Dutertes, Dela Rosa’s arrest is least supported by those who identify as Pro-Duterte, with a slim majority (53.2%) saying they don’t think it is important for the Philippine government to cooperate with the ICC.

These results are similar to the survey’s findings on whether Filipinos agree or disagree with the Philippine government cooperating with the ICC to arrest other alleged drug war co-perpetrators.

Pro-Opposition adults are also the most likely to agree with the government’s cooperation (70.0%), followed by Pro-Marcos (66.7%) and Independents (56.3%).

Across regions, Mindanao least likely to find gov’t cooperation important
Most Filipino adults in Metro Manila find the government’s cooperation with the ICC for Dela Rosa’s arrest important (71.6%), followed by the Rest of Luzon (69.7%) and Visayas (56.2%).

Meanwhile, majority of adults in Mindanao believe it is not important for the Philippines to coordinate with the ICC in arresting thesenator-in-hiding (57.5%). Mindanao is known to be Duterte’s political stronghold.

About half of Filipino adults in Mindanao (54.5%) also disagree with the government assisting in the potential arrest of other alleged drug war co-perpetrators like Go and Albayalde for the ICC.

By comparison, Filipinos in Metro Manila (62.4%), the Rest of Luzon (58.9%), and Visayas (52.5%) agree that the other co-perpetrators should be arrested by the ICC.

Gov’t cooperation with ICC for Dela Rosa’s arrest important across generations

Majority of Filipino adults across generations say it is important for the government to support the ICC in arresting Dela Rosa, with Gen Z the most likely to say it is important at 64.3%, followed by Gen X (60.5%), Baby Boomer and the Silent Generation (56.3%), and Millennials (51.3%).

Support for the arrest of other co-perpetrators, however, show a less unified front. While Gen Z adults (61.0%) and Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation (55.2%) are more likely to show support for the co-perpetrators arrest, Millennials (44.5% agree, 47.2% disagree) and Gen X (49.6% agree, 40.8% disagree) Filipinos are split.

Conducted from October 16 to 19, the National Momentum Survey was carried out through face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,401 Filipino adults. It has a national margin of error of ±2.6 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Subnational margins of error are ±7.0% for the National Capital Region, ±3.8% for the Rest of Luzon (North, South, and Central Luzon), ±6.1% for Visayas, and ±5.8% for Mindanao — all at a 95% confidence level.

Find the complete survey results on our public dashboard at momentumresearch.ph.