(UPDATE) THE Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block the arrest of fugitive Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in the Duterte administration’s deadly drug war.
"The Supreme Court, in a vote of 9-5-1, denied the prayer for a temporary restraining order and/or status quo ante order filed by Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ M. dela Rosa," a court statement said.
The ICC last week unsealed an arrest warrant against dela Rosa, accused along with Duterte and other "co-perpetrators" of the crime against humanity of murder.
Government agents tried to arrest dela Rosa on the same day, but the pro-Duterte Senate leadership foiled the attempt and gave him sanctuary.
Dela Rosa later left the Senate for an unknown location following a shooting incident between government agents and Senate security personnel on Wednesday that sent senators scurrying for cover in their offices.
Duterte was arrested in March last year and is awaiting trial by the ICC in The Hague on charges stemming from the drug crackdown.
"For now, we can say that the warrant of arrest is valid against Senator Bato dela Rosa," Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro, the Palace spokesman, told reporters.
It was not immediately known if the police will now try to enforce the arrest.
Castro said Manila will let Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida interpret and evaluate the Supreme Court ruling.
Vida had said last week that government agents would pause efforts to serve the ICC warrant to allow the Supreme Court to resolve all the issues raised by dela Rosa.
Still unresolved
In a press statement released after a special session held Wednesday, the Supreme Court said it had acted only on dela Rosa’s prayers for interim relief. The main constitutional issues raised by petitioners former president Rodrigo Duterte and dela Rosa — including whether an ICC warrant may be enforced in Philippine territory without a domestic judicial warrant — remain unresolved in the main case.
Dela Rosa had sought a TRO and/or status quo ante order to prevent the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) from arresting him on the basis of any ICC warrant, Interpol Red Notice or diffusion, or any foreign judicial instrument "without a Philippine judicial warrant."
In a 117-page reply filed just two days before the Court's special session, petitioners warned that allowing the executive branch to enforce an ICC warrant without prior judicial authorization would reduce the Bill of Rights to "a matter of executive suppressor, rather than a binding limitation on governmental power."
With the TRO denied, dela Rosa remains subject to arrest based on the ICC warrant, though the legal basis for such an arrest remains hotly contested before the Court.
Arrest order valid
The Palace said the validity of the ICC arrest order against dela Rosa was further strengthened by the Court’s decision.
In a Palace press briefing, Castro noted that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) said there was no need to go through a local court.
“So, since there is no TRO, we are saying that the warrant of arrest is valid,” she said.
Earlier this month, Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe countered dela Rosa’s petition by saying the lawmaker is manipulating the legal system to evade the ICC arrest warrant issued on Nov. 5, 2025, and unsealed on May 11, 2026.
The OSG brushed off dela Rosa’s claim that his arrest may only be facilitated through a local court as it cited Section 17 of Republic Act 9851, which says the state has “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.”
Dela Rosa resurfaced after months of hiding last May 11 to throw his support behind the former minority bloc that propelled Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to the Senate presidency.
Cayetano gave dela Rosa protection against the NBI agents who tried to arrest him that day.
Two days later, dela Rosa, aided by Sen. Robinhood Padilla, slipped out of the Senate complex several hours after the shooting incident initiated by the Senate sergeant-at-arms.
Castro noted that the OSG has declared dela Rosa a fugitive from the law. WITH AFP
