The Supreme Court (SC) did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to immediately stop the enforcement of the arrest order issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
During its special full court session on Wednesday, May 13, the SC acted on the May 11 motion filed by Dela Rosa’s lawyers seeking the issuance of a TRO against the ICC’s arrest warrant.
With no TRO granted, the SC — in a resolution — directed the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) and other respondents to file their comments within a non-extendible period of 72 hours “upon its upload on the eCourtPH and publication in the SC website” (sc.judiciary.gov.ph).
In a press briefer, the SC’s Office of the Spokesperson also said: “Senator Dela Rosa was likewise directed to file his Reply within a non-extendible period of 72 hours from receipt of the respondents’ Comment.”
The Court added: “This is without prejudice to the Court taking any interim or urgent measures as prayed for by Senator Dela Rosa, should it become necessary.”
Among those named respondents in the March 2025 petition filed by then president Rodrigo Duterte and Dela Rosa were the heads of the DOJ, DILG, PNP, and Bureau of Immigration.
The motion filed by Dela Rosa’s lawyers on May 11 was a supplemental manifestation to the March 2025 petition docketed as GR No. 278747. It remains unclear if the plea for a TRO will be taken up once the comments are filed.
The SC is currently on a month-long decision-writing period until the end of May, with regular sessions set to resume in June.
Since Monday night, Dela Rosa has remained in his Senate office under protective custody after the NBI attempted to enforce the ICC arrest order.
In November 2025, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber issued an arrest order against Dela Rosa as an “indirect co-perpetrator” in killings linked to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
The Chamber said Duterte and his co-perpetrators, including Dela Rosa, “shared a common plan or agreement to neutralize alleged criminals in the Philippines” through violent crimes, including murder.
The unsealed warrant stated that Dela Rosa’s alleged involvement in the “common plan” amounted to a “crime against humanity of murder” committed between July 3, 2016, and April 2018, during which no fewer than 32 people were killed.
Former President Duterte was arrested on March 11, 2025, and turned over to the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, where he remains detained. Reports said his trial on charges of crimes against humanity of murder will begin soon.
Dela Rosa and Duterte challenged Duterte’s arrest and turnover to the ICC before the SC, with the petition still pending resolution.
Dela Rosa’s lawyers, led by Israelito Torreon, argued that any arrest or surrender based on an ICC warrant must be subject to prior Philippine judicial authorization and safeguards under the 2025 Rules on Extradition Proceedings. They questioned the legality of the ICC’s arrest and insisted they would submit only to Philippine jurisdiction.
Earlier, the DOJ reiterated that the Philippines may surrender any Filipino subject to an ICC arrest warrant, citing Republic Act No. 9851, which allows extradition or surrender to international courts.
The DOJ noted this was the same legal basis used when Duterte was arrested last year.
The ICC, established by the 2002 Rome Statute, counted the Philippines as a member until its withdrawal took effect in 2019.
The alleged crimes involving Duterte and Dela Rosa occurred while the country was still a member. (Rey Panaligan)
