Newly elected Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano has drawn a clear line on what arrest warrants the chamber will recognize, saying only those issued by Philippine courts will be acted upon inside the Senate — a position he stated after an International Criminal Court warrant was reportedly brought to the premises against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
“Under our Constitution, it has to be a Philippine judge issuing a warrant of arrest. So if they come here with a warrant of arrest from a Philippine judge, we will entertain that,” Cayetano told reporters.
The Senate leader also noted that in practice, senators typically take the initiative themselves once legal options have been exhausted. “Usually, it is the senator himself who volunteers or surrenders after exhausting all legal remedies,” he said.
The incident that preceded his statement involved National Bureau of Investigation personnel who attempted to serve the ICC warrant on Dela Rosa, triggering a chase that prevented the senator from attending the legislative session. Cayetano criticized the manner in which the attempt was carried out.
“But you come to us with an ICC warrant that we haven’t seen… they would chase a senator so he cannot attend session, which is quite unfortunate,” he said.
The episode adds further friction to the Philippine government’s already complicated relationship with the ICC, as domestic legal questions over the court’s jurisdiction remain unresolved.
