FACT CHECK: Bato dela Rosa not yet arrested; online posts misuse old video

The NBI, DILG, DOJ, and the PNP have all denied reports of Dela Rosa's arrest, while Malacañang called it a ‘diversionary tactic.’ Some false posts misrepresent a May 13 video of Dela Rosa’s appearance at the Senate. Claim: Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who is a fugitive hiding from an active arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was arrested inside a private hotel in Davao City. Rating: FALSE Why we fact-checked this: Posts spreading the claim in different ways have been circulating online, with the most popular one garnering 372,000 views, 4,300 reactions, and 571 shares as of writing. “BREAKING NEWS: Bato Dela Rosa nahuli na sa isang private hotel sa Davao City!” says text on top of a video showing journalists swarming Dela Rosa as he enters an elevator. The post’s caption says the same. (Breaking news: Bato Dela Rosa was caught in a private hotel in Davao City.) Other posts do not include the video, but use the same text. Some posts simply claim in their caption that the senator has been caught, without adding any further details. The facts: Several government agencies and minority senators debunked the claim in separate interviews and press briefings. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in an August 4 press briefing that it has not received any official information confirming reports of Dela Rosa’s arrest. On the same day, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag confirmed in media interviews that they have made no such arrest and that the manhunt for Dela Rosa is still ongoing. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla told reporters that the Philippine National Police has no information on Dela Rosa’s arrest either, according to media reports. (WATCH: Bato, arrested? No info yet, say DILG, DOJ.) Dela Rosa’s fellow minority bloc senators Imee Marcos and Robin Padilla also told media that they had no information on the matter. On August 5, Malacañang denied rumors of Dela Rosa’s supposed arrest, calling it a “diversionary tactic” to take public attention off of Vice President Sara Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial. At the time the claim spread, the trial was tackling the Commission on Audit’s findings on Duterte’s use of confidential funds. Misrepresented video: Some false posts misuse an old video of Dela Rosa’s appearance in the Senate on May 13, before he went into hiding. A reverse image search shows that the video originally came from DYHP RMN CEBU, posted on May 13 with the following caption: “Sitwasyon sa paggawas ni Senador Bato dela Rosa sa Session Hall karong gabii sa wala pa nahitabo ang sunod-sunod nga buto-buto sa armas sa sud sa maong building.“ (Situation as Senator Bato dela Rosa exits the Session Hall tonight, before a shootout happened inside the building.) Videos taken by other media outlets show the same events and are described in a similar manner to DYHP RMN CEBU’s version. This was a day before Dela Rosa escaped the Senate premises on May 14 and went into hiding. (READ MORE: Bato dela Rosa’s escape: Timeline, analyses, opinions from experts) ‘Bad news’: The false claims began spreading after Jimmy Bondoc, Dela Rosa’s counsel, made a cryptic Facebook post that says: “Bad news is coming. Pray hard that it is not true, for the good of the nation.” This post has since been deleted after several government agencies denied reports of the senator’s arrest. Debunked: Dela Rosa has been in hiding since the ICC unsealed its arrest warrant against him on May 11. Dela Rosa was former president Rodrigo Duterte’s national police chief. His arrest warrant was issued over an allegation of crime against humanity of murder because of his involvement in Duterte’s bloody drug war. Pro-Duterte accounts have been active in spreading other false claims related to Dela Rosa since the issuance of his arrest warrant. Rappler has debunked these claims: FACT CHECK: Bato dela Rosa not at recent INC rallies; post uses January 2025 video FACT CHECK: Post misuses news report to claim ICC arrest warrant vs Dela Rosa is fake FACT CHECK: No Supreme Court order blocking Dela Rosa’s ICC arrest – Shay Du/Rappler.com Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to the #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time. How does this make you feel? Loading