Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

Sen. Bato dela Rosa. Senate PRIB/File 

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17626868900481762686885457.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa. Senate PRIB/File </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Sight unseen and existence yet unproven, the supposed International Criminal Court warrant for Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; Dela Rosa, implementor of the Duterte drug war, has already raised questions on how it might be implemented if it were real.</p><p>Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Saturday after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla alleged on a radio show that one had already been issued that any arrest and turnover would have to follow rules on extradition proceedings that the Supreme Court approved in October.</p><p>The police in March arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa&#x27;s principal when he was national police chief, as, the government said then, part of its commitment to assist Interpol in implementing an ICC arrest warrant for a crimes against humanity charge.</p><p>Bersamin noted, however, that &quot;the Supreme Court has &quot;since come out with a new rule on extradition requiring a prior resort to a court before the person subject of extradition may be brought out of the country.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/8/doj-working-to-verify-alleged-icc-issuance-of-warrant-for-dela-rosa-1102"><strong>DOJ &#x27;working to verify&#x27; alleged ICC issuance of warrant for Dela Rosa<br/></strong></a></div><p>Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who served as foreign affairs secretary to Duterte, also brought up the SC rules, saying &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/8/bato-s-rumored-icc-warrant-cayetano-cries-due-process-some-house-reps-call-for-arrest-1701">[the court] has drawn the line clearly: extradition, and all acts of justice, must be rooted in law and due process, not in bias or emotion.</a>&quot;</p><p>Dela Rosa&#x27;s counsel, lawyer Israelito Torreon, also made reference to going through a Philippine court even as he cautioned against speculation on the supposed warrant.</p><p>He said he trusts that the government will &quot;act in accordance with the rule of law&quot; in case a warrant has been issued.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/8/bato-s-camp-urges-caution-restraint-amid-reports-on-icc-arrest-warrant-1637"><strong>Bato’s camp urges caution, restraint amid reports on ICC arrest warrant<br/></strong></a></div><p>&quot;Any such action shall first pass through the proper local judicial confirmation process consistent with our Constitution, due process, and the sovereign rights of the Republic of the Philippines.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS, ACCORDING TO THE SC RULES</strong></div><p>The rules in A.M. No. 22-03-29-SC apply to people who are subject to extradition requests, which, under Presidential Decree No. 1069, can only be done by states that have an extradition treaty with the Philippines.</p><p><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/22459https://www.doj.gov.ph/international-legal-cooperation.html">According to the Department of Justice</a>, there are 14 countries — among them are Australia, Canada, the US and the UK — that have these treaties with the Philippines.</p><p>If sought by a requesting state,  the justice secretary or authorized state counsels must files a petition with the Regional Trial Court, which will act as the extradition court and will have jurisdiction even if the extraditee — the subject of the request — changes residence.</p><p>The extradition court, will check for validity in form and substance, compliance with laws and treaties, and for probable cause that: &quot;<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/20251027-PR-Rules-on-Extradition-Proceedings.pdf">the person named is the same one identified in the warrant of arrest</a>, indictment, or judgment issued by Requesting State, the offense is an extraditable offense, and the person committed the offense.&quot;</p><p>Extraditable offenses, or those that are punishable under the laws of the Philippines and of the requesting state.</p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/20/palace-blasts-bato-s-plan-to-go-into-hiding-should-icc-seek-his-arrest-1618"><strong>Palace blasts Bato&#x27;s plan to go into hiding should ICC seek his arrest<br/></strong></a></div><p>If it finds reason to, the extradition court can issue a warrant of arrest for the extraditee, who will be held in National Bureau of Investigation custody until turned over to the requesting state.</p><p>The extradition courts decision may be brought to the Court of Appeals, which will have 90 days to make a final and executory decision on the request. Extradition will be put on hold until the CA decides on the appeal.</p><p>Extradition will also be put on hold if &quot;the extraditee is also facing criminal charges or serving a sentence in the Philippines for an offense other than the one for which extradition is requested.&quot;</p><p>The rules on extradition proceedings were published on October 25 and come into force on Monday, November 10.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LAWYERS: THESE RULES ARE FOR WARRANTS ISSUED BY STATES</strong></div><p>But, according to officers of the National Union of People&#x27;s Lawyers, a volunteer organization that assists some of the families of victims of extrajudicial killings in the Duterte drug war, the SC rules would not apply to the ICC, which is not a state.</p><p>Lawyer Ephraim Cortez, NUPL president, said <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EBCortez1967/posts/pfbid0iwSjkvcCER2GLG89NLx8zEjNKE4uobUQ9ksPCbqegNnXasbNBqjPKhbahfEYfQdGl?__cft__[0]=AZWC3BWus4Y8ezHzAIBeJo4QYeYxLmhOSor9DpVWqUeSeN3xjM2w3fEbPO-7oJQ-6-x3OsR7EDqHfunfRScYpeUA255fdsGCs8ha3unPRlNAmBDwdtzNavKIzCaCjmOLPRVbe1znmVQKuChNIQaUbGMbERH20_OoCaRuGSD_j6ZUcYYhCsCrQS4WZbS-M9NxLos&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">in a Facebook post</a> that &quot;since the duty to enforce the warrant of arrest against Bato is not imposed pursuant to an extradition treaty, the Rules of Procedure on Extradition are inapplicable.&quot;</p><p>Cortez said that the ICC is &quot;a special mechanism created pursuant to the Rome Statute&quot; and not a state that would be covered by the new SC rules.</p><p>He said the Philippine government is &quot;still duty-bound to comply with its treaty obligations pursuant to Article. 127 (2),&quot; which requires signatories to cooperate with proceedings that began before withdrawal from the treaty creating the ICC. </p><div><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/23/icc-rejects-duterte-s-jurisdiction-challenge-2355"><strong>ICC rejects Duterte&#x27;s jurisdiction challenge<br/></strong></a></div><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/krissy.conti/posts/pfbid08J626objKemm1vreoJqXzkkjuRCEsDBy1kFJoanf3aeP8DXfMvMPVWGUPpHkyKj5l?__cft__[0]=AZWhti9n4q4Lao5x6X7S9lUJMybM6hJMU-FL4lwzMqhBXj1DEXuIq-0LhBpeKIcA-SzyfR2s4tQ0tC_Sa_S-eM-blqN_gOe0w8_Ri1ckL21rEx0Ekvxi3CnD1BQZpxpCzykC17NWpGMG7DOhIq-OptFRN0Kbh1ZWfcNflgEX8NSzlyDveREHqvhxTr3HOZglZYg&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">In a separate post</a>, lawyer Kristina Conti, secretary-general of NUPL&#x27;s National Capital Region chapter, said that Dela Rosa&#x27;s potential arrest and transfer to the ICC would be a &quot;surrender&quot; and not an extradition.</p><p>She said that while foreign warrants would need to go through the extradition process, an ICC warrant is an international one that member states are bound to recognize and that are valid in any territory that recognizes it.</p><p>&quot;Ang surrender ay isang porma ng cooperation sa ICC, na isang international court, ng mga member- at maski non-member-state,&quot; she said.</p><p>(A surrender would be a form of cooperation with the ICC, which is an international court, by member- and even non-member states)</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/krissy.conti/posts/pfbid0EQ9T9rT56XU8XLnuzLVQSE4iEkCntkz9o3c8NZySXK7SC4qsZfuXWUUj7SmMdFKyl?__cft__[0]=AZVN43LFzFfc9SYdWkdbL72Z8s2-Y1saYb-oLPuEkGqFcRaA1KpiptcvSqHwS6sZf9kX39Dufc3Z2s_0Ulqo3aTlC9_ox8ADhEnq2XNQ_l-LWeDUk-9-PqpwYQjex1TzDNFtij7Sf_AxTsCKcLsrualLcizP9U9kaZE9vryTVx9fpEIlDIR2YSsNWM5F55jCQ6k&amp;__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R">In a subsequent post</a>, she said that while the SC has issued rules on extradition proceedings, &quot;it remains to be tested if it is specifically applicable&quot; to Dela Rosa&#x27;s potential arrest.</p><p>&quot;My view, similar to other lawyers but contrary to some executive government officials, is that extradition is not the process in the implementation of an ICC warrant,&quot; she said.</p><p>Dela Rosa has yet to comment on the alleged warrant and it is yet unclear if one has even been issued, but reactions to the rumor indicate how government might respond to one if it comes.</p><p>In the meantime, Rise Up for Life and for Rights — an organization of relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings — is calling on the Senate to not block any potential arrest and for the Marcos Jr. administration not to enter compromise agreements on accountability for the war on drugs.</p><p>&quot;Lahat kami umaasa at hindi nawawalan ng pag-asa na ang pinaka-mastermind hanggang sa kanyang mga galamay ay makulong,&quot; Jane Lee, who lost her husband in a &#x27;tokhang&#x27; operation, said in a statement the group released on Saturday.</p><p>(We are all hoping and have not lost hope that the mastermind and his minions will be sent to prison)</p>

<p>Sight unseen and existence yet unproven, the supposed International Criminal Court warrant for Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, implementor of the Duterte drug war, has already raised questions on how it might be implemented if it were real.</p>

Sight unseen and existence yet unproven, the supposed International Criminal Court warrant for Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, implementor of the Duterte drug war, has already raised questions on how it might be implemented if it were real.

WRAP: Rumored ICC warrant for Bato raises questions on how, and if, one would be implemented

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WRAP: Rumored ICC warrant for Bato raises questions on how, and if, one would be implemented

Jonathan de Santos,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 09, 2025 08:42 PM PHT

Read More:

Ronald Dela Rosa

International Criminal Court

Israelito Torreon

National Union of People's Lawyers

Ephraim Cortez

Kristina Conti

Lucas Bersamin

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