Rowegie Abanto

Mary Ann Domingo, (center) the wife of Luis Bonifacio and mother of Gabriel Bonifacio, with families of other victims of drug war killings and human rights defenders after the mass outside the San Roque Parish Church in Kaloocan City on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Mary Ann Domingo,(center) the wife of Luis Bonifacio and mother of Gabriel Bonifacio, with families of other victims of drug war killings and human rights defenders after the mass outside the San Roque Parish Church in Kaloocan City on Saturday, June 15, 2024. They gather to pray for justice as the verdict on two counts of homicide against police officers, scheduled for June 18, draws near. Luis and Gabriel were killed on September 15, 2016.Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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Mary Ann Domingo, 

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177130117986920240615-mass-for-justice-ejk-MT-7.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Mary Ann Domingo, (center) the wife of Luis Bonifacio and mother of Gabriel Bonifacio, with families of other victims of drug war killings and human rights defenders after the mass outside the San Roque Parish Church in Kaloocan City on Saturday, June 15, 2024. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Should warrants of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court be coursed through local courts in the Philippines before they can be enforced?</p><p>This question is again the subject of public discussion after the ICC released a list of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s alleged co-perpetrators in his crimes against humanity case tied to his bloody drug war.</p><p>Among <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/14/what-charges-does-duterte-face-at-icc-court-releases-document-0813">the eight named as co-perpetrators</a> were Sen. Ronald &quot;Bato&quot; dela Rosa, who served as Duterte&#x27;s first national police chief and lead architect of the drug war, and Sen. Bong Go, Duterte&#x27;s former long-time aide and special assistant. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/16/hontiveros-maintains-no-arrest-can-be-made-in-senate-while-in-session-1444">Hontiveros maintains no arrest can be made in Senate while in session</a></div><p>The ICC is still in the investigation stage in relation to Duterte&#x27;s alleged crimes and that more persons could be charged and face arrest warrants.</p><p>As of this writing, there are still no confirmed warrants of arrest issued by the ICC against any of Duterte&#x27;s alleged co-perpetrators.</p><p>Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday said any warrant issued by the international court &quot;should <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/14/any-icc-warrant-vs-bato-go-should-go-through-ph-courts-lacson-says-1733">go through our local court</a>, which will issue a corresponding order to implement the foreign entity&#x27;s arrest warrant.&quot;</p><p>He said dela Rosa and Go can avail of legal remedies.</p><p>&quot;I think they should have the chance to avail of all legal options, because our local courts and processes must be respected. If there is an arrest warrant from the ICC or a foreign court, it should go through our local court, which will issue a corresponding order to implement the foreign entity&#x27;s arrest warrant,&quot; Lacson said.</p><p>On X, Lacson said on Tuesday that he had consults &quot;with legal experts, even retired SC justices&quot; before putting forward a legal opinion. </p><p>&quot;This way, I trust that I’m talking more sense than ordinary lawyers,&quot; he said. </p><p>That view was also used by Duterte and Dela Rosa, through their lawyers, in a last-ditch effort to block the former president&#x27;s arrest in March 2025 before the Supreme Court, which <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/duterte-fails-to-get-immediate-tro-vs-arrest-1722">rejected the issuance of a temporary restraining order</a> but has yet to <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/G.R.-No.-27876310.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawQArUxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETJZRDRaZ2F4QkF3ZVYzZ0hEc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHhfHKSPryPQB8lAoogUiJp6iVxkM14f71t26e_urIrDZf36UJbg1RbXrsL5O_aem_vrNNGEpUJDygvqQaUfkmLg">rule on the legality</a> of that arrest.</p><p>They argued in their petition that &quot;foreign-issued arrest requests have no automatic legal effect, and any action taken must be based on domestic legal authority,&quot; adding that the ICC no longer has authority over the Philippines because the nation had already withdrawn from the Rome Statute, which created the tribunal, in 2019.</p><div><strong>&#x27;COURT THAT DIDN&#x27;T ISSUE WARRANT CAN&#x27;T REVIEW IT&#x27;</strong></div><p>But for lawyer Ruben Carranza, senior expert at the International Center for Transitional Justice, the assertion that a Philippine court has the power to review the validity of an international warrant was erroneous.</p><p>He said on Tuesday that a court which did not issue a warrant cannot review it, noting that a local tribunal cannot determine &quot;whether there is sufficient evidence for the warrants to have been issued.&quot;</p><p>What a Philippine court can instead do is &quot;look at what the ICC treaty requires a country that has withdrawn but still has obligations to cooperate,&quot; he told ANC.</p><p>Carranza noted that the Supreme Court had already ruled that the Philippines has &quot;residual obligations&quot; following its withdrawal from the ICC.</p><p>He was referring to the<a href="https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/67374"> 2021 decision</a> of the high court where it said, &quot;Withdrawing from the Rome Statute does not discharge a state party from the obligations it has incurred as a member.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Consequently, liability for the alleged summary killings and other atrocities committed in the course of the war on drugs is not nullified or negated here. The Philippines remained covered and bound by the Rome Statute until March 17, 2019,&quot; it also wrote.</p><div><strong>&#x27;RA 9851 ADDRESSES DOMESTIC ARGUMENT&#x27;</strong></div><p>Law professor Melencio &quot;Mel&quot; Sta. Maria, who served as dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law, meanwhile said <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.facebook.com/deanmelofficial/posts/pfbid0RrXaBiwRC2A4Hdak4shveZPz7CrWCNTGmz35nRnhz9ZoDYtVFFFuQKVWVXPZLsa7l">in a post on Facebook</a> on Monday that the intervention of a local court in case the ICC issues a warrant of arrest &quot;is longer needed.&quot;</p><p>Sta. Maria asserted that Republic Act No. 9851, which defines and penalizes crimes against international humanitarian law and was cited by the Marcos administration in defending their arrest and transfer of Duterte to The Hague, &quot;effectively answers the &#x27;domestic warrant&#x27; argument.&quot;</p><p>&quot;When the ICC issues a warrant for a crime, we recognize as universal, RA 9851 provides the statutory bridge to act upon it. The Philippines can recognize such warrant of arrest,&quot; the law professor said.</p><p>&quot;To insist on a domestic warrant for a universal crime against humanity is to build a wall where there should be a bridge. Let us choose justice over technicalities.&quot;</p><p>He also said that the Constitution does not qualify the court or the judge who issues the warrant of arrest.</p><p>&quot;It can thus be a local or international court. When the law — much more the constitution which is the supreme law of the land — does not distinguish, we should not distinguish,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>DUTERTE ICC CASE A &#x27;UNIVERSAL&#x27; CRIME</strong></div><p>Sta. Maria also argued that Duterte&#x27;s crimes against humanity case was &quot;not a &#x27;mere&#x27; crime&quot; but rather a &quot;universal&quot; one, adding, &quot;Under international law, these offenses are so heinous that they transcend national borders. They are an affront to the conscience of all mankind.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Because of this, the principle of universal jurisdiction allows—and often requires—the global community to act when local systems are unable or unwilling.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/14/vitaliano-aguirre-i-never-conspired-in-any-extrajudicial-killings-2312">Vitaliano Aguirre: I never conspired in any extrajudicial killings</a></div><p>He contended that the 1987 Constitution &quot;explicitly states that the Philippines &#x27;adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land.&#x27;&quot;</p><p>After the naming of Duterte&#x27;s co-perpetrators in his crimes against humanity case, the Palace on Monday said the Philippines is forced to <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/16/palace-philippines-obliged-to-implement-possible-icc-arrest-warrant-vs-dela-rosa-go-1458">implement a potential warrant of arrest</a>.</p><p>Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that while drug war cases could be held and heard before Philippine courts, &quot;we also have a law that allows the government to surrender the alleged defendants to the International Criminal Court.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-strong fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/palace-defends-duterte-arrest-to-help-serve-more-icc-arrest-warrants-1249">Palace defends Duterte arrest, to help serve more ICC arrest warrants</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O5Mr22puamw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ebiy9JBR_lw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>This question is again the subject of public discussion after the ICC released a list of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte's alleged co-perpetrators in his crimes against humanity case tied to his bloody drug war.</p>

This question is again the subject of public discussion after the ICC released a list of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte's alleged co-perpetrators in his crimes against humanity case tied to his bloody drug war.

Should ICC warrants go through local courts before they can be enforced? Lawyers weigh in

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Should ICC warrants go through local courts before they can be enforced? Lawyers weigh in

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 17, 2026 12:14 PM PHT

|

Updated February 17, 2026 04:05 PM PHT

Read More:

ICC

International Criminal Court

Panfilo Lacson

Ronald dela Rosa

Bato dela Rosa

Rodrigo Duterte

Drug War

Crimes Against Humanity

Warrant of Arrest

Arrest Warrant

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