MANILA, Philippines — The lawyer of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa has urged the Supreme Court (SC) to act immediately on his petition challenging the Philippine government's cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC), warning that his possible arrest and transfer to The Hague could render the high tribunal's intervention ineffective.
Israelito Torreon told The Manila Times that the petition remains pending before the Supreme Court en banc, which has yet to resolve the constitutional questions surrounding the enforcement of the ICC arrest warrant against the senator.
Torreon said the legal situation had become more urgent following what he described as an escalation in the government's efforts to locate and arrest Dela Rosa, including the offer of a P50 million bounty on his capture and his designation as "armed and dangerous."
In a 15-page manifestation filed on Oct. 27, Torreon informed the court of these developments and asked it to resolve urgently the pending motion for reconsideration of its May 20 denial of the senator's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and a status quo ante order.
The Supreme Court denied the request by a 9-5-1 vote. Torreon said the denial did not resolve the main constitutional issues raised in the petition.
He said the circumstances considered by the Court in May had since changed, particularly following the intensified manhunt for the senator.
Torreon also cited the Oct. 23 statements by the Department of the Interior and Local Government secretary and the Philippine National Police chief declaring Dela Rosa armed and dangerous and the offer of a P50 million reward for information that would lead to his arrest.
He argued that the bounty could encourage private individuals to take the law into their own hands.
"The right to life is now directly at stake, and a right does not get clearer than that," Torreon said in explaining why the Supreme Court should reconsider its earlier denial of interim relief.
He stressed that the Supreme Court's denial of the TRO did not authorize Philippine authorities to enforce the ICC warrant or surrender Dela Rosa to the international tribunal.
"Denying a TRO is not a warrant of arrest. It is not a finding that the ICC warrant can be enforced here, and it is not a surrender order," he said.
Among the questions Torreon said the SC must settle is whether an arrest warrant issued by an international tribunal can be enforced in the Philippines without a Philippine court first determining probable cause.
