The Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to immediately halt any arrest of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa but directed executive officials to file comments within 72 hours on the senator’s motion questioning the legality of the International Criminal Court warrant against him.
The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I had originally issued the warrant under seal on November 6, 2025, before unsealing it on May 11, 2026. The chamber found reasonable grounds to believe dela Rosa bore criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator in the crime against humanity of murder, covering at least 32 killings between July 2016 and the end of April 2018.
Dela Rosa’s legal team at Torreon and Partners filed an urgent manifestation with omnibus motion before the Supreme Court en banc, seeking protection from what they characterized as a “three-layered enforcement strategy” — citing preparations for a 10,000-strong task force, a subpoena from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the threat of enforcement through Interpol mechanisms.
The firm’s core prayer was unambiguous: it sought “the immediate issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Injunction prohibiting any arrest, detention, turnover, transfer, rendition, or surrender of Senator Dela Rosa without a valid Philippine judicial warrant.”
In a separate filing docketed as GR No. 278747, the same firm argued that NBI agents who attempted to detain dela Rosa inside the Senate premises on May 11 had violated Article 145 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes the use of force to prevent a legislator from attending sessions or casting a vote.
The court’s Wednesday decision to call for comment rather than grant the TRO mirrors its earlier handling of a similar petition filed following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte. When Duterte was taken into custody at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 12, 2025, and flown to The Hague, the SC had also declined to immediately block government cooperation with the ICC at that stage.
Dela Rosa’s lawyers leaned on that precedent as a cautionary signal. “In such a situation, judicial review may become practically difficult, if not ineffectual, once foreign custody is effected,” the law firm warned, urging the court to act before the same window closes.
Dela Rosa has remained inside the Senate compound since Monday under the chamber’s protective custody. Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said the Senate would only recognize warrants issued by Philippine courts, while the Marcos administration maintained that the executive branch would not interfere in Senate decisions.
Five senators from the new minority bloc — Francis Pangilinan, Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, Risa Hontiveros, and Bam Aquino — filed a resolution urging dela Rosa to voluntarily surrender. The resolution stated that the Senate has “no constitutional or statutory authority to provide ‘protective custody’ or sanctuary from lawful arrest, surrender, or judicial processes.”
The Philippine National Police said they are taking a “wait-and-see” stance. PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement that the police “has not received any official communication or lawful directive from the appropriate government authorities regarding the matter.”
Dela Rosa, for his part, said he reached out to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for help, telling reporters: “Who would he ask for help if not a fellow Filipino, a foreigner?” He added that Senate President Cayetano had been candid about the limits of Senate custody, telling him: “This (senate custody) is not forever.”
