Photo of Duterte's chartered ICC jet misrepresented as plane awaiting fugitive Philippine senator

The photo of a private jet was shared again on TikTok on May 13, 2026.

"Aeroplane which will fly Senator Bato, ready and waiting," says overlaid Tagalog-language text, using a nickname for Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, who was former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte's top drug war enforcer (archived link).

The photo was shared shortly after Dela Rosa escaped government agents attempting to serve him an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant tied to his role in the bloody drug crackdown during Duterte's presidency. He is accused of the crime against humanity of murder along with Duterte and other co-perpetrators.

Dela Rosa's former boss was arrested in Manila in March 2025 and flown to the Netherlands, where he is being held at the ICC’s detention unit at Scheveningen Prison awaiting trial. The former president faces three counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018.

The true number of killings during his campaign in the Philippines is thought to be in the thousands, and lawyers for the victims have argued that a full trial could encourage more families to come forward.

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Screenshot of the false post captured on May 23, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

The same photo also circulated in similar TikTok, YouTube and Facebook posts after Dela Rosa escaped from the Philippine Senate building, where he had briefly sought refuge while asking the Supreme Court to stop attempts by government agents to arrest him (archived here and here).

Police Chief Jose Nartatez said Dela Rosa possibly left the Senate on May 13 in a vehicle registered to his ally Senator Robin Padilla to an unknown destination.

On the same day, shots were fired by senate security personnel and government agents, sending senators scurrying into their offices for shelter.

Philippines authorities presented their initial findings into the incident at a public briefing on May 19, where Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla identified Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Mao Aplasca -- a former classmate of Dela Rosa -- as the person who fired the first shot.

Aplasca's shot outside the building prompted a government agent to fire a warning shot in return,  Remulla said.

The photo circulating on social media, however, does not show a plane waiting to take Dela Rosa away.

A reverse image search on Google found the same photo was previously published on March 11, 2025 -- the night Duterte was flown to The Hague (archived link). 

It was shared by several local news outlets, including ABS-CBN, Bilyonaryo News Channel, Rappler and Inquirer (archived here, here, here and here).

The photo was credited to Duterte's ally and lawyer Martin Delgra (archived link).

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Screenshot of the falsely shared image (L) and the photo published by ABS-CBN on March 11, 2025

Philippine Air Force spokesperson Colonel Maria Christina Basco told journalists there is no truth to the claim about a plane being on standby to take Dela Rosa to The Hague.

"We are undergoing normal air operations, routine operations... We have not received any official directives or requests regarding that [claim]," she said on May 12.

AFP has debunked other misinformation surrounding the attempted arrest of Dela Rosa.