PH Supreme Court denies Senator Bato dela Rosa's bid to block arrest in ICC case

MANILA - The Philippine Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday rejected a bid by Senator Ronald dela Rosa for a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court.

Dela Rosa, whose whereabouts are unknown, is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity over his role in a bloody "war on drugs" during Rodrigo Duterte's 2016-2022 presidency. He has denied involvement in illegal killings.

In a 9-5-1 vote, the SC has denied the prayer for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or status quo ante order (SQAO) filed by the senator.

A news release of the Office of the Spokesperson of the SC explained that Dela Rosa's manifestations sought to prevent several agencies from arresting him:

• Department of Interior and Local Government;

• Department of Foreign Affairs;

• Department of Justice;

• Philippine National Police;

• National Bureau of Investigation;

• Bureau of Immigration;

• Armed Forces of the Philippines, and

• Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The SC said Dela Rosa's request specifies that such an arrest should not be conducted on the basis of any warrant from the International Criminal Court, red notice or diffusion from the International Criminal Police Organization, or any foreign judicial or quasi-judicial instrument without a Philippine judicial warrant.

However, the SC said that while the restraining order had been denied, other issues in the senator's petition have yet to be addressed.

"The SC only decided on the prayers for interim relief. The main issues raised by the parties in their pleadings and motions are yet to be resolved in the main case," the SC said, adding that a copy of the available pleadings may be downloaded from the SC website.

The legal counsel of Dela Rosa said on Wednesday they will ask the SC to reconsider its decision to reject a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest and transfer to the ICC.

"We will exhaust every remedy available under law," the law firm representing dela Rosa said in a statement.

Dela Rosa, a retired police officer, served under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte as chief of the Philippine National Police from 2016 to 2018, overseeing the Philippine government’s war against drugs. He was elected senator in 2019 and has been serving in that capacity until the present.

WILL SEEK DELA ROSA'S ARREST

In a Reuters report, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida on Friday said authorities will "definitely" seek to arrest dela Rosa and execute the ICC warrant.

Philippine authorities last week confirmed they were seeking to arrest the former police chief and top enforcer of the crackdown, who had argued in a petition to the court that law enforcement had no legal authority to execute an arrest warrant issued by a foreign court.

The court's decision is the latest turn in a dramatic story that has gripped the Philippines since early last week and paves the way for his arrest.

Dela Rosa emerged from six months of hiding last week and took refuge at the Senate for several days, before slipping away in the early hours of May 14, after a night of chaos and gunfire following his appeal for help and claims that his arrest was imminent.

The tough-talking dela Rosa was Duterte's top enforcer of a bloody crackdown during which thousands of alleged drug dealers were shot dead in police operations.

At the peak of the campaign, murders of drug users spiked dramatically, with police blaming those killings on vigilantes and turf wars.

Rights groups say an accurate death toll may never be known and accuse police of systematic murders and cover-ups, which they deny, insisting those killed were armed and had resisted arrest.

Duterte is currently in detention in The Hague after his arrest last year and will go on trial charged with crimes against humanity. He maintains his innocence.

-Reporting by Mikhail Flores, Nestor Corrales and Karen Lema; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by David Stanway with additional reports from Paraluman News