SolGen counters Bato’s SC petition vs ICC arrest
The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the Supreme Court to reject what it called the legal maneuvers of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and to allow the government to arrest the lawmaker and former Philippine National Police chief so he could stand trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a 74-page comment dated May 16 and made public on Sunday, state lawyers led by Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe branded Dela Rosa a “fugitive from justice” who is manipulating the legal system to evade the ICC arrest warrant issued on Nov. 5, 2025, and unsealed on May 11, 2026.
The OSG urged the high court to deny all of Dela Rosa’s “purely personal” motions.
“Until he submits himself to lawful authorities, he must be deemed a fugitive from justice and should not be allowed to seek any relief from the courts,” the document stated.
This was in response to the high court’s notice issued on May 13 for the OSG to comment on Dela Rosa’s plea for a restraining order on the ICC warrant amid questions on its validity in the Philippines.
Dela Rosa, through his counsel, has filed several urgent motions before the Supreme Court, including one seeking a restraining order against the arrest warrant issued by the ICC, which had named him as a “co-perpetrator” in the drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
He also urged the high court to compel the Executive branch to hand over sensitive Interpol red notices, diffusions and interagency communications and to automatically convert his petition into a writ of habeas corpus the moment he is arrested, claiming no domestic court has issued a warrant against him.
The OSG, however, said Dela Rosa’s motions are a “catch-all proceeding” that violates basic court procedures.
Its strongly worded comments opened with a quote from Dela Rosa himself saying “If someone fights back, they’ll die. If nobody fights back, we’ll make them fight back. Produce blood. Instill fear.”
It said Dela Rosa’s case is a masterclass on “how the powerful corrodes the rule of law,” drawing a contrast between how the senator managed to evade the judicial processes and the experience of victims of the drug war, of which he was the chief implementer as PNP chief.
The OSG noted that the victims were never given a trial or choice before being permanently silenced with a singular claim “nanlaban” (fought back).
It further argued that Dela Rosa cannot assert that his constitutional right to liberty was under threat when he was able to enter the Senate session hall on May 11 and participate in the plenary proceedings, even casting his vote in the Senate leadership change.
“These circumstances negate, rather than establish any actual or consummated deprivation of liberty […] As a party who has actively availed himself of judicial remedies, he cannot claim that he has been deprived of due process,” the OSG said.
‘Evade arrest, prosecution’
Dela Rosa was under the Senate’s “protective custody” for three days until an alleged shooting incident between the upper chamber’s Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms personnel and National Bureau of Investigation agents broke out on Wednesday night in the Senate premises.
Newly installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano later confirmed that Dela Rosa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, had slipped out of the Senate compound in the aftermath of that incident.
“His departure in the early hours of the morning was not incidental but a deliberate act to evade his arrest by law enforcement authorities. Flight under these circumstances demonstrates a clear intent to evade arrest and prosecution,” the OSG said.
“Since a fugitive from justice has demonstrated disrespect for legal processes, he or she has no right to call upon the courts and the judicial system to adjudicate any of his or her claims,” it added.
PH law on ICC arrest
The OSG also disputed the argument by Dela Rosa’s allies that his arrest can only be facilitated by a warrant from a local court.
It cited Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9851 that “vests upon the State the discretion to determine whether a person accused of crimes punishable under the law should be surrendered to an international tribunal or foreign court, such as the ICC.”
RA 9851, also known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, was signed into law by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Dec. 11, 2009. It predates the country’s membership in the ICC by two years.
Among its listed authors are incumbent Senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, with Senators Lito Lapid and Loren Legarda later added as coauthors.
Estrada, Zubiri and Lapid, as well as Senators Pia Cayetano and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, voted in favor of the measure when it was approved on third reading in May 2009.
“It is worth noting, if only briefly, that the loudest voices today protesting the arrest and surrender of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the ICC—and now of Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa as well—include senators who were officially identified with the passage of RA 9851: Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Loren Legarda, and Francis “Chiz” Escudero,” Inquirer columnist Randy David wrote in his column on Sunday.
‘Legally bound’
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano was among those who voted in favor of a resolution to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC in August 2011. The vote formally made the country a member of the ICC.
The OSG stressed that the Philippines remains “legally bound to cooperate with the ICC under Domestic Law, Customary International Law, and Constitutional Principles” even though it withdrew from the international tribunal in 2019.
“While the Philippines is no longer obligated under the Rome Statute, it acts within its legal rights when it cooperates with the ICC because it is authorized by domestic law. Under customary international law, and supported by constitutional principles, we are legally bound to cooperate,” it said.
Lawyer Antonio Bucoy of the Free Legal Assistance Group, meanwhile, said the onus to yield Dela Rosa to the ICC is on the political will of President Marcos.
“We must remember that we have treaty obligations which, if we fail to fulfill them, would make our country an unreliable member or an unreliable party to any treaty,” Bucoy said in an interview on dzBB on Sunday.
Bucoy cited a Supreme Court decision in 2021 (Pangilinan v. Cayetano) which ruled that withdrawing from the Rome Statute does not discharge a state party from the obligations it has incurred as a member.
“We are under the treaty to comply, to deliver,” he said.
The Department of Justice said on Friday the ICC warrant would only be served once the Supreme Court resolves Dela Rosa’s petitions, unless he attempts to flee abroad, in which case he would be detained. —WITH REPORTS FROM AFP, INQUIRER RESEARCH AND DEXTER CABALZA
******
Get real-time news updates: inqnews.net/inqviber
