Former President Rodrigo Duterte and several high-ranking officials, including Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, have been identified by the International Criminal Court as co-perpetrators in alleged crimes against humanity linked to the Philippine drug war.
The names were included in a lesser-redacted version of the Document Containing Charges submitted by the Office of the Prosecutor on Feb. 13, 2026. The DCC was originally published on July 4, 2025.
The document states that between Nov. 1, 2011, and Mar. 16, 2019, Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a “common plan” to neutralize alleged criminals in the Philippines through violent means, including murder. The list of alleged co-perpetrators includes:
- Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief and Davao City Police chief
- Vicente Danao, former Davao City Police chief and PNP Deputy Director for Operations of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group
- Camilo Cascolan, former finance chief of the Davao Region Police Office and PNP chief for Directorate for Operations
- Oscar Albayalde, former NCR Police Regional Director
- Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, former Personal Aide and Special Assistant to Duterte
- Dante Gierran, former Davao regional director of the National Bureau of Investigation
- Isidro Lapeña, former Davao City Police chief and PDEA chief
- Vitaliano Aguirre II
- Other PNP officers and high-ranking government officials
According to the Prosecutor, Duterte and his co-perpetrators controlled both the local police and the Davao Death Squad (DDS), enabling them to direct the individuals who carried out killings. The DDS reportedly operated under a hierarchical structure, with Duterte and the co-perpetrators at the top and lower-level members executing orders. The document notes that failure to comply could result in death for DDS members.
The ICC scheduled the confirmation of charges against Duterte for Feb. 23, 2026. Duterte has been in ICC custody since March 2025 following his arrest over alleged crimes against humanity committed during his tenure as mayor and president.
Requests for comment from Go and dela Rosa have not been returned as of this writing.
