How Dela Rosa's viral Senate chase became the subject of a game, wedding video, and memes
It's been a chaotic few weeks in the Senate, with one of the highlights being Sen. Bato dela Rosa's viral video where he's seen running away from NBI agents.
In his first Senate appearance on May 11 after a six-month absence, Dela Rosa drew attention with a CCTV footage showing a minutes-long chase through the halls and stairs between him and NBI operatives. The latter reportedly attempted to serve an ICC warrant against the former over alleged crimes against humanity.
The moment became so intense that the senator tripped on the stairs and injured his fingers.
The incident quickly gained attention from local and international media. The New York Times and CNN shared the footage, with CNN calling it a “comedic cat-and-mouse chase.” It was also picked up by Reuters, ABC News, and CBS News.
From CCTV footage to memes
Filipinos got creative in poking fun at Dela Rosa's Senate chase.
Indie app builder Jopel Mandac made a web-based video game inspired by the incident, where a character portraying the politician has to jump over obstacles to evade NBI agents.
In a TikTok post, he explained that his little project was completed using Phaser.js, a framework used to create browser-based games.
@ojijopel Run for your life ang ginawa ko eh… Senate Run now playable! Built with Phaser.js #SenateRun #IndieGame #PoliticalSatire #GameDev #fyp ♬ SUBWAY SURFERS (Main Theme) - Subway Surfers
In an interview with The Philippine STAR, Jopel said it took him four nights to create the game. He noted it was purely "for fun" as he expressed his frustration over what's happening at the Senate.
Now that it has gone viral, Mandac said he's considering adding more features, including power-ups, to make it even more exciting. He also plans to develop a second game called Call of Senate, inspired by the Senate gunfire incident on May 13, where players would have to shoot as many times as they can in one minute without any target.
Couple Cindy and Edrian Sison, meanwhile, drew laughs with their now-viral wedding video that featured a recreation of the incident.
In the SDE, Edrian was seen rushing alongside his groomsmen, while a news report narrating Dela Rosa tripping on the stairs played in the background.
"Ganito kapag Gen Z ang photo and video team na nahire mo," he wrote in his post. In the clip, Edrian said, "Ikakasal na kami ni Cindy, kailangan ko nang pumunta sa simbahan."
@kuyaedds Ganito pag genz nakuha ninyong wedding videographer 🤣💖 #xakivisuals #wedding #sde ♬ original sound - Kuya Ed - kuyaedds
A meme page also reposted the viral CCTV footage of Dela Rosa with the sound of Subway Surfers—a game where users play an endless runner that tries to escape security—in the background. "SUBWAY SURFER (Senate edition). Circus na talaga ang gobyerno natin," the caption read.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by mga himig na tugtugin kapag nag lalakbay sa maynila (@mhntknlsm)
Some made running references in captions as they reposted the video, like hitting 10,000 steps on Strava.
Two days after the chase, Dela Rosa said he had gotten wind of some of the memes and online jokes. Instead of taking offense, however, the senator chose to laugh it off.
Dela Rosa's ICC case
Dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration and allegedly helped carry out the government’s bloody anti-drug campaign.
Duterte was arrested over murder, torture, and rape—which are part of the 15 forms of crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute—that took place between Nov. 11, 2011, and March 16, 2019. He is currently detained in The Hague awaiting trial before the ICC.
Dela Rosa has been included on the ICC wanted list. He's now being actively pursued by local authorities.
