The legal and political fallout from the Philippines’ bloody war on drugs continues to reverberate, as both domestic and international courts intensify their scrutiny of those allegedly responsible for a campaign that claimed thousands of lives. In a striking convergence of local and global justice processes, former police officer Arturo Lascañas—whose testimony helped bring former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC)—now faces multiple arrest warrants in his hometown, even as the ICC weighs further charges against Duterte’s co-accused.
On June 9, 2025, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 in Davao City issued a new arrest warrant for Lascañas, this time for online libel under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Judge Retrina Fuentes set bail at P48,000, ordering law enforcement officers to bring Lascañas before the court to face the charges or to release him if bail is posted and approved. This latest warrant is just one in a string of legal actions against Lascañas, who is also facing far more serious accusations—including murder and attempted murder—stemming from his alleged activities as a member of the notorious Davao Death Squad (DDS).
The court’s pursuit of Lascañas is relentless. On October 16, 2020, the same branch issued an alias warrant for murder with no bail recommended. Additional attempted murder charges carry bail set at P120,000 each. Officers from the Philippine National Police in Davao City, the Bureau of Immigration, and the National Bureau of Investigation are among the complainants in these cases. The court has instructed law enforcers to execute the warrants within ten days of receipt and to submit a report explaining any failure to serve them. Addresses in Davao City—Bariquit Compound, Sitio San Andres in Barangay Indangan, and Roseville Subdivision in Buhangin village—are listed as locations where Lascañas might be found.
Lascañas, a retired police officer, is no ordinary defendant. He is a confessed member of the DDS, a shadowy group accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and drug offenders in Davao City. His bombshell testimony, delivered before the ICC, was instrumental in bringing charges of crimes against humanity against Duterte, who served as Davao City mayor before ascending to the presidency. Fearing for his life, Lascañas fled the country, but his revelations have continued to shape the legal landscape both at home and abroad.
Meanwhile, the international dimension of the drug war saga is intensifying. According to the Daily Tribune, an ICC-accredited lawyer stated on August 18, 2025, that arrest warrants for Duterte’s co-accused are unlikely to be issued before the confirmation of charges scheduled from September 23 to 26, 2025. The prosecution’s application for Duterte’s warrant, dated March 13, 2025, tagged nine individuals as co-perpetrators, though their identities remain confidential in the heavily redacted ICC documents. The alleged network includes members of the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Bureau of Investigation, non-police assets, and hitmen.
Lawyer Joel Butuyan, who represents victims of extrajudicial killings, predicted that the ICC warrants for Duterte’s co-perpetrators may be issued without warning—much like Duterte’s own arrest in Manila on March 11, 2025. Butuyan explained, “It probably won’t happen before 23 September as the prosecution is dealing with a lot of work in preparation for the confirmation of charges, because they will present evidence to convince the ICC that there needs to be a trial in Mr. Duterte’s case.” He added, “Whether or when the case against these nine or some of them will actually move forward, just like what happened with the investigation of Mr. Duterte, all the proceedings would be confidential. The arrest warrants will just definitely come out.”
Duterte, who has spent the past five months at the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands, is facing a single charge of murder for crimes against humanity. The charge is based on his alleged role as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in the anti-drug campaign, which spanned from November 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019, covering his time as both Davao City mayor and president.
Speculation is rife about who might join Duterte in the dock. The Daily Tribune reports that former police chiefs Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and retired police general Oscar Albayalde are among those potentially facing charges. Dela Rosa, who served as Philippine National Police chief from 2016 to mid-2018, was succeeded by Albayalde, who allegedly continued the brutal anti-drug campaign. Dela Rosa has publicly stated his intention to seek refuge in the Senate if arrested, while Albayalde said he would not resist arrest if the ICC warrant is enforced.
The ICC’s application described the DDS as a group established by Duterte, comprising both police officers and non-police hitmen, responsible for killing drug suspects and criminals in Davao City. This model, prosecutors allege, was expanded nationwide after Duterte became president in 2016. The application further alleges that, “To facilitate these killings, the perpetrators committed other crimes, such as rape and torture, to force targets to ‘confess’ to their alleged criminality. Some killings were staged to appear as though the police had to use lethal force in self-defense, to cover up the criminal nature of the killings.” In some operations, “not only the alleged criminals, but also family members and other individuals who happened to be in the vicinity… were killed in the attack.”
Adding another layer to the controversy, a House probe in 2024 revealed that Duterte ordered the creation of a national task force to replicate the “Davao model” nationwide. Retired police colonel Royina Garma testified that police officers were rewarded with up to P1 million for each killing—a system that incentivized violence and, critics argue, eroded the rule of law.
The confluence of domestic and international efforts to hold perpetrators accountable has created a legal labyrinth for those implicated in the drug war. While the Davao RTC moves to bring Lascañas to justice for both cybercrime and violent offenses, the ICC’s methodical approach signals that further high-profile arrests may be on the horizon. The outcome of the confirmation of charges in September could set the stage for a new phase in the Philippines’ reckoning with its recent past—one that will test the country’s commitment to both justice and the rule of law.
As the courts press forward, the world watches to see whether the architects of the drug war will ultimately face accountability, not just in the eyes of history, but before the bar of justice itself.