MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) has denied the petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and status quo ante order sought by Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa against the possible enforcement of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a press briefer on Wednesday, the SC said the En Banc voted 9-5-1 to deny the plea filed by Dela Rosa in connection with G.R. No. 278747, titled Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Sen. Ronald “Bato” M. Dela Rosa v. Hon. Lucas Bersamin, et al.
The petition sought to prevent government agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, from arresting Dela Rosa based on any ICC warrant, Interpol red notice, or other foreign judicial instrument without a Philippine judicial warrant.
“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 Court said.
The SC added that the full resolution, including separate concurring and dissenting opinions of the justices, will be uploaded on the Supreme Court website on May 25.
The ICC earlier unsealed the arrest warrant issued against Dela Rosa, identifying him as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator in crimes against humanity involving murder and attempted murder allegedly committed between November 2011 and March 2019.
The tribunal said there were reasonable grounds to believe Dela Rosa was involved in the killings carried out during the anti-drug campaign under former president Rodrigo Duterte, when Dela Rosa served as Davao City police chief and later as Philippine National Police chief.
Dela Rosa resurfaced at the Senate last week after months of absence and participated in the leadership change that removed Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
Tensions later escalated after National Bureau of Investigation agents reportedly attempted to serve the ICC warrant inside the Senate complex.
The senator eventually left the Senate premises following a lockdown and gunfire incident near the chamber./PN
