The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has clarified that the failure to arrest Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa is not due to a lack of willingness to enforce the law, but rather based on existing legal processes.
Legal Basis for Non-Arrest
According to the DILG, the agency's basis is Section 17 of the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, which was also cited by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Under this law, an individual may be surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or tried in a local court in the Philippines if there is a proper warrant related to crimes against humanity.
Presidential Directive
The DILG emphasized that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the relevant agencies, including the Philippine National Police (PNP), to await the decision of the Supreme Court before taking any action in the absence of a court order from the country. Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida earlier stated that no manhunt order had been issued against Dela Rosa.
The DILG insisted that their move is not a lack of action but merely adherence to the Constitution, due process, and the rule of law in the Philippines.
