The legal team of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Tuesday urged authorities to observe due process amid reports that the Philippine National Police (PNP) had formed a composite team to implement a possible arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking to reporters at the Senate, lawyer Israelito Torreon said he received information that a special police team had allegedly been organized to arrest the senator and possibly bring him before the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands.
“I heard that there is a PNP composite team already allegedly organized to arrest my client. I hope and pray that they will follow the rule of law that any foreign warrant of arrest is not automatically enforceable here,” Torreon said.
Dela Rosa’s legal team filed a supplemental petition before the Supreme Court late Monday night seeking a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the possible implementation of the ICC warrant.
According to Torreon, the petition was submitted after what he described as confirmation of the existence of the warrant, making the issue ripe for judicial intervention.
“Kasi may confirmation na ng warrant, so the issue has become justiciable really because of the existence and the confirmation of the warrant,” he said.
“Ang sa akin, there is now a clear and urgent necessity on the part of the Supreme Court to act because a failure on their part would create grave and irreparable injury to my client,” he added.
Torreon also said dela Rosa has no intention of surrendering to the ICC, maintaining that they continue to question the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the Philippines.
“In the first place, we even questioned the authority of the ICC to still issue the warrant of arrest. So that is why we only recognize one authority — the Philippine authority through the Supreme Court and the adjunct courts, the courts under it,” he said.
The lawyer argued that any attempt to enforce the ICC warrant should first go through Philippine courts before it can be carried out against the senator.