The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has urged the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss the petition filed by Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa seeking to prevent his arrest, detention, and transfer related to the warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In its commentary, the OSG argued that the urgent manifestation with omnibus motion and the extremely urgent supplemental manifestation with motion filed by dela Rosa’s camp lack sufficient basis or merit.
“The Philippines stands before the international community with a solemn commitment that this country will never become a sanctuary for impunity for the narrow and universally condemned class of atrocities known as crimes against humanity. Through Republic Act No. 9851, the State itself acknowledged and committed to the international community that there are crimes so grave that our government cannot simply look away,” the OSG stated in its closing remarks.
“At its core, this case asks what the rule of law truly means: whether the law exists merely as a shield for the powerful when accountability finally reaches them, or whether it still carries its highest purpose which is the attainment of justice. The law was never intended to provide an excuse for evasion, nor to become a weapon wielded only by those with power. It exists so that even the voiceless dead, whose cries never reached a courtroom, are not forgotten by justice,” it added.
Dela Rosa suddenly returned on May 11, 2026, after a six-month absence. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had previously attempted to serve the ICC warrant but failed.
The senator was placed under protective custody by the Senate until he exhausted all legal remedies against his impending arrest, but he left the Senate after a shooting incident between NBI agents and the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms.
That evening, the ICC confirmed that it had secretly issued a warrant of arrest against Dela Rosa in November 2025. The lawmaker is identified as a co-perpetrator with former President Rodrigo Duterte in crimes against humanity related to the country’s drug war.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I charged Dela Rosa with involvement in a joint plan from November 1, 2011, to March 16, 2019, to kill suspected criminals, particularly those allegedly involved in drug use, sale, or manufacture.
The chamber cited Dela Rosa’s former positions in the national police, including chief of the Davao region police office, head of the PNP intelligence group, and director of the Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development. It also noted his roles as PNP chief and director general of the Bureau of Corrections.
