Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday said any move to arrest Sen. Ronald dela Rosa over a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) must first go through Philippine courts, stressing that foreign arrest orders cannot simply be enforced in the country without local judicial process.
The newly installed Senate president made the statement after agents of the National Bureau of Investigation reportedly attempted to serve an ICC arrest warrant against dela Rosa inside Senate premises on Monday.
“There’s no problem with serving warrants. We are lawmakers, we are not lawbreakers,” Cayetano told reporters.
However, he said authorities must first secure a warrant from a Philippine court before the Senate could recognize or authorize enforcement action against one of its members.
“Sinasabi namin, kailangan mo ng warrant of arrest from a Philippine court. So, kapag dumaan sa korte, na-exhaust lahat ng legal remedies, kami na mismo mag-authorize niyan,” Cayetano said.
He added that there was precedent for senators staying within Senate premises while pursuing legal remedies and stressed that due process must be observed before any arrest is carried out.
According to Cayetano, dela Rosa told him he would abide by the final outcome of the legal process as long as the warrant came from a local court.
Meanwhile, dela Rosa’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, urged authorities to “follow the rule of law” amid reports that the Philippine National Police (PNP) had formed a composite team to arrest the senator.
“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.
Torreon also claimed he received information that authorities planned to bring dela Rosa to a waiting aircraft for possible transfer to the Netherlands, where the ICC is based.
Late Monday night, dela Rosa’s legal team filed a supplemental petition before the Supreme Court seeking a temporary restraining order against the possible implementation of the ICC warrant.
Torreon said the issue had become urgent following what he described as confirmation of the warrant’s existence.
“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.
He added that there was now a “clear and urgent necessity” for the Supreme Court to act, warning that failure to do so could cause “grave and irreparable injury” to his client.
Torreon maintained that dela Rosa has no intention of surrendering to the ICC, saying the senator’s camp continues to question the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the Philippines.
Another member of dela Rosa’s legal team, Jimmy Bondoc, said they are also preparing to file a petition for a writ of amparo before the Supreme Court to protect the senator’s rights to life, liberty, and security.
Bondoc added that the camp may also seek a writ of habeas corpus if dela Rosa is eventually taken into ICC custody.