Government lawyers asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday night, May 16, to deny the plea of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa seeking to stop the enforcement of the arrest order issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In its comment, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) effectively asked the SC to direct law enforcement agencies to enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa, who was named as a “co-perpetrator” in a “common plan” with former president Rodrigo Duterte to “neutralize alleged criminals in the Philippines” during his tenure as Davao City police chief and later as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Duterte is currently detained by the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands, and will face trial on charges of crimes against humanity for the deaths of thousands of Filipinos in his war on illegal drugs when he was mayor.
The OSG noted that after six months in hiding, Dela Rosa surfaced at the Senate last Monday, May 11, to cast his vote on the removal of then Senate president Vicente Sotto III.
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was subsequently installed as the new Senate president.
The Senate then placed Dela Rosa under protective custody.
On the same day, Dela Rosa filed a motion before the SC seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop his arrest based on the ICC warrant.
The SC did not issue a TRO and instead directed the executive branch to comment on the motion within a non-extendible 72 hours.
In the early morning of May 14, Dela Rosa left the Senate immediately after gunshots were heard inside the building housing the upper chamber of Congress.
His whereabouts remain unknown as of posting. That same day, his lawyers filed a reiterative motion before the SC for the issuance of a TRO against the ICC arrest warrant.
In its comment on Dela Rosa’s May 11 motion, the OSG told the SC: “This is a case study in how the powerful corrodes the rule of law: a sitting Senator, sworn to uphold the law, who insists that he can determine when a warrant should or should not be enforced. He failed to discharge his duties as senator, and suddenly appeared to vote to replace the Senate President, at a time when the Impeachment Complaint from the House of Representatives is about to be transmitted. After seeking refuge in the august halls of the Senate, he ‘escaped’ and continued to hide.”
The OSG further stated: “In a constitutional democracy, no individual may place himself above lawful process simply because he disagrees with it. Such actions mock our institutions, by evading accountability while simultaneously taking advantage of the very legal processes meant not only to uphold the rule of law, but to ensure that justice is served.” (Rey Panaligan)
