SENATOR Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa has once again asked the Supreme Court (SC) to prevent his arrest as he challenges efforts to enforce the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruling linking him to alleged crimes against people during the war that killed former President Rodrigo R. Duterte and drugs.
In a 117-page filing dated May 18, Mr. dela Rosa rejected the government’s arguments to dismiss his petition, insisting that the Philippines’ power and judicial process must prevail over the interests of other countries.
“Accountability for serious crimes is a legitimate state interest, but the complexity of the case does not replace administrative, legal authority or judicial process,” said the lawyer, who enforced the campaign against illegal drugs as police chief of Mr.
“It would be a great historical irony, and a constitutional disaster, if the Executive is now allowed to do voluntarily what colonialism forced: to bring a Filipino citizen to foreign authorities,” he added.
Mr. dela Rosa is seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent authorities from arresting or handing him over to the ICC without a warrant issued by a Philippine court.
His camp said any arrest must first be approved by a local judge, saying the enforcement of a foreign warrant without domestic court review amounts to a “shortcut.”
The government, through the Office of the Solicitor General, has defended its position, saying ICC warrants can be used locally without prior court approval.
“The ICC letter authorizing Senator dela Rosa does not require confirmation by the domestic court to be effective,” Attorney General Darlene Marie B. Berberabe said earlier in the filing.
Mr. dela Rosa responded that the ICC has no legal jurisdiction over the Philippines after its withdrawal from the Rome Statute that came into force in March 2019.
He noted that the ICC only authorized its investigation in May 2021 and issued an arrest warrant in November 2025, after the country ceased to be a member.
“There is no foreign court, no executive department and no international organization that is the final and authoritative word on what Philippine law requires in Philippine territory,” he said.
The Supreme Court had previously refused to issue an injunction sought by the senator, although it required government agencies to respond to his case.
Tensions are high, law enforcement is monitoring his movements and his camp is denying allegations that he is on the run from authorities.
The Solicitor General’s Office said his actions included him within the definition of a “fugitive from justice,” a claim his lawyers rejected, saying he remained in the country and wanted the protection of the court.
“A person who wants to be freed from the court before being arrested is not avoiding the law; he is using the law,” said Mr. dela Rosa.
The ICC warrant links Mr. dela Rosa and the killing of people during the anti-narcotics campaigns between 2016 and 2018, which investigators say may be a crime against humanity.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I previously found reasonable grounds to believe that he acted as an accomplice in killings related to anti-drug operations from 2011 to 2019.
Mr. dela Rosa dismissed the allegations, calling the evidence presented by the ICC “false”. – Erika Mae P. Sinaking
