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Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa attends a Senate hearing on August 30, 2023. Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate PRIB/File

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SENATE

Adrian Ayalin

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/176291978809320230830-senate-bato-dela-rosa-SPRIB-3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa attends a Senate hearing on August 30, 2023. Voltaire F. Domingo, Senate PRIB/File </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The lawyer of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said Wednesday the Philippine government cannot invoke a local law for the arrest and surrender of the lawmaker to the International Criminal Court.</p><p>Lawyer Israelito Torreon said Republic Act No. 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity is not “self-executing” as there are no implementing rules and regulations that govern the specific process of surrendering an individual to an international tribunal. </p><p>Torreon noted that Section 17 of the law states that the Philippines “may surrender or extradite a person to another court or international tribunal that is conducting the investigation or prosecution of crimes punishable under this Act, pursuant to applicable extradition laws and treaties.”</p><p>“However, it must be stressed that no Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) have ever been promulgated by the Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, or any other competent authority to define or govern the specific process by which such ‘surrender’ may be effected,” Torreon said in a statement.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/11/remulla-says-he-has-unofficial-copy-of-bato-s-icc-arrest-warrant-1754">Remulla says he has &#x27;unofficial copy&#x27; of Bato’s ICC arrest warrant</a></div><p>The DOJ earlier said that Dela Rosa, if and when an arrest warrant is issued by the International Criminal Court for his involvement in the war on drugs, could be surrendered to the ICC on the basis of RA No. 9851, the same law used as the basis for the arrest and transfer of the former President to the ICC.</p><p>Another route is extradition proceedings, which was suggested by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, but the DOJ said that could take a longer time.</p><p>Torreon noted that there was a qualifying phrase in RA No. 9851 which explicitly requires that surrender or extradition be carried out pursuant to applicable laws and treaties.</p><p>The phrase, according to Torreon, suggests that the legislative intent of the provision is conditional and not automatic.</p><p>“The act of surrendering a Filipino citizen to a foreign or international tribunal constitutes the gravest form of deprivation of liberty, involving physical transfer outside the jurisdiction of Philippine courts,” Torreon said.</p><p>In the DOJ’s briefing Tuesday, Chief State Counsel Dennis Chan said the department believes that the provisions of the law are already self-executing.</p><p>“It is the position of the department that RA No. 9851 was actually the state’s response to its becoming a member of the ICC, so by virtue of the state of the Philippines then, acceding to the ICC, Congress intended the provisions under RA No. 9851 to be self-executing,” Chan said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/11/doj-says-yet-to-receive-rumored-icc-arrest-warrant-vs-bato-0907">Surrendering Bato to ICC also an option aside from &#x27;longer&#x27; extradition: DOJ</a></div><p>Chan noted that RA No. 9851 is unlike other laws or Constitutional provisions such as the anti-political dynasty provision which needs the subsequent act of Congress.</p><p>“Sa surrender, sa RA 9851 it is already self-executing, there is no more need for subsequent legislation to fill in the gaps, so to speak,” Chan said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/9/rumored-icc-warrant-for-bato-raises-questions-on-how-and-if-one-would-be-implemented-2042">WRAP: Rumored ICC warrant for Bato raises questions on how, and if, one would be implemented</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>DUTERTE LAWYER WEIGHS IN </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>But Salvador Paolo Panelo, Jr., lawyer for Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, said the DOJ has no legal basis to surrender Dela Rosa to the ICC.</p><p>Panelo filed the habeas corpus petition of the younger Duterte for her father, which questioned the transfer of the former President to the ICC.</p><p>Panelo noted that Filipinos should not be surrendered to the ICC under RA No. 9851 without prior authority from a Philippine court.</p><p>He also noted that under the Constitution, no warrant of arrest shall be issued without the determination of probable cause by a judge.</p><p>“This obviously refers to a judge of a competent court in the Philippines, and not a foreign tribunal like the ICC,” Panelo said.</p><p>Panelo also noted that in their pending petition before the Supreme Court, the ICC has lost its jurisdiction over the Philippines upon the withdrawal of President Duterte from the Rome Statute.</p><p>Panelo added that an ICC arrest warrant cannot be automatically implemented in the Philippines because foreign judgments are not recognized in the Philippines, unless confirmed by a Philippine court, in accordance with Rule 39, Section 48 of the Rules of Court.</p><p>“We will therefore file an urgent motion urging the Supreme Court to finally resolve the consolidated habeas corpus petitions, in the hope that it will finally provide the necessary judicial guidance to put a stop to this administration’s shameless constitutional violations for the sake of political gain, and more importantly, to direct the Philippine government to facilitate the long overdue repatriation of former President Duterte,” Panelo said.</p><div><iframe width="923" height="519" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MVZ_HPIQuC8" title="ICC &#x27;cannot confirm&#x27; arrest warrant vs Bato Dela Rosa | ANC" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>The lawyer of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said Wednesday the Philippine government cannot invoke a local law for the arrest and surrender of the lawmaker to the International Criminal Court.</p>

The lawyer of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa said Wednesday the Philippine government cannot invoke a local law for the arrest and surrender of the lawmaker to the International Criminal Court.

Dela Rosa camp says int’l law does not support immediate surrender to ICC

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Dela Rosa camp says int’l law does not support immediate surrender to ICC

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 12, 2025 12:02 PM PHT

|

Updated Nov 12, 2025 03:30 PM PHT

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Dela Rosa

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