<\/p>\n
By Erika Mae P. Sinaking, <\/b><\/span>Reporter<\/i><\/p>\n SENATOR Ronald \u201cBato\u201d M. dela Rosa is now staying within the Senate after a high-stake standoff on Monday prompted the chamber to position him under protective custody, shielding him from arrest for his role within the Duterte administration\u2019s deadly war on drugs.<\/p>\n Analysts on Tuesday said the Senate mustn’t allow Mr. dela Rosa to evade a legitimate arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), citing international treaty obligations and domestic legal provisions governing cooperation with the tribunal.<\/p>\n Mr. dela Rosa, who served as police chief of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, on Tuesday denied he ordered the killings of drug war victims, claiming that evidence held by the ICC was \u201cfabricated.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy only role is that I led [the drug war] but that doesn\u2019t mean I ordered to kill all of them. After all, if the lives of the cops are at risk, they need to save themselves,\u201d Mr. dela Rosa told reporters in mixed English and Filipino.<\/p>\n Mr. dela Rosa also maintained that he’ll only answer to local authorities, saying that they are going to present themselves should there be an area grievance filed against him.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause if this just isn’t politics, why don\u2019t they file a case against me in local courts?\u201d he said. \u201cIn the event that they want accountability, file a grievance against me here within the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n The Senate on Monday placed Mr. dela Rosa under protective custody, based on Senate Resolution No. 44, barring authorities from entering its premises. <\/span><\/p>\n The senator had been absent since reports of a possible ICC arrest warrant surfaced in November, reappearing on Monday just as National Bureau of Investigation agents attempted to arrest him.<\/span><\/p>\n NOT A SAFE HOUSE \u201cBy providing him with protective custody, the Senate is shielding him from arrest. So he has to remain contained in the Senate constructing. The protection is not going to be prolonged outside the Senate constructing,\u201d Mr. Cortez told BusinessWorld<\/i> via a Viber chat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Senate Resolution extending such protection has no binding effect and just isn’t a legal basis for stopping the issuance of the warrant of arrest,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n He added that the measure has no legal effect against international obligations, noting that domestic resolutions cannot override treaty-based commitments. <\/span><\/p>\n Jose Sonny G. Matula, Nagkaisa chairman and Federation of Free Employees president, likewise said \u201cprotective custody\u201d mustn’t be used as a \u201cmagic phrase\u201d to defeat a lawful arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cProtective custody normally means custody for an individual\u2019s safety, not custody to make the Senate a secure house from legal process,\u201d Mr. Matula said in a separate Viber chat. \u201cIf it means Senator dela Rosa will stay within the Senate to avoid arrest, then that just isn’t protective custody \u2014 that’s political shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n He identified that under Article VI, Section 11 of the Structure, senators are immune from arrest just for offenses punishable by not greater than six years while Congress is in session, a limit that doesn’t apply to crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n The ICC on Monday made public an arrest warrant for Mr. dela Rosa for the crime against humanity of murder, identifying him as an alleged indirect co-perpetrator with Mr. Duterte.<\/p>\n The warrant revealed that judges of the ICC\u2019s Pre-Trial Chamber I discovered reasonable grounds to imagine the previous Philippine National Police chief was involved in a typical plan targeting alleged criminals within the context of the anti-drug campaign.<\/p>\n Specifically, the chamber linked the criminal liability finding to incidents between July 3, 2016 and end-April 2018, during which not less than 32 individuals were killed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s now for the national authorities to arrest and give up the suspect to the ICC,\u201d ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet said in a video statement late on Monday evening.<\/p>\n Ranhilio C. Aquino, dean of the San Beda Graduate School of Law, argued that ICC warrants don’t require domestic judicial issuance for enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cArticle 127 of the Rome Statute OBLIGATES the Philippines to cooperate with processes of the ICC \u2014 including the service of warrants of arrest\u2026 This, coupled with the aforecited Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9851, provide the legal warrant for the arrest of Bato dela Rosa,\u201d he said on a Facebook post.<\/p>\n He described the Senate\u2019s actions as \u201ccoddling someone charged with one of the crucial egregious of crimes that may be committed.\u201d<\/p>\n Victims\u2019 groups, Rise Up for Life and for Rights, and human rights lawyers also called for immediate compliance with the ICC process, warning that failure to act would undermine international accountability mechanisms.<\/p>\n \u201cDela Rosa is now considered a suspect-at-large by the International Criminal Court\u2026 He have to be arrested on the strength of the ICC warrant, served by the correct Philippine authorities,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n \u201cDela Rosa cannot only show up for work only when convenient, and he cannot hide within the Senate from the enforcement of laws that the Senate has approved,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n NULLIFY SENATE RESO John Barry T. Tayam, a senior highschool teacher from Las Pi\u00f1as City, filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition, arguing that Senate Resolution No. 44, also generally known as the Filipino Protection from Extraordinary Rendition Resolution, is unconstitutional and was issued with grave abuse of discretion.<\/p>\n Mr. Tayam said that the resolution \u2014 which mandates the exhaustion of domestic remedies before a Filipino is surrendered to a foreign entity \u2014 effectively turns the Senate right into a \u201csanctuary\u201d for Mr. dela Rosa amid an ICC warrant.<\/p>\n \u201cA Senate Resolution is an internal expression of sentiment and can’t legally override a statute,\u201d a part of the grievance read.<\/p>\n \u201cTo permit the Senate to shield its members from judicial process under the guise of institutional integrity can be to create a privileged class above the law. The Court, as the ultimate arbiter, must reaffirm that no institution is so sacred that it could operate outside the reach of the Structure,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n Mr. Tayam invoked the Doctrine of Transcendental Importance, urging the High Court to resolve the \u201cconstitutional crisis\u201d and make clear the bounds of parliamentary privilege.<\/p>\n PIECE OF PAPER \u201cI hope and pray that they are going to follow the rule of law that any foreign warrant just isn’t mechanically enforceable here in our country. We’re an independent country, and their processes have to be confirmed in our country first,\u201d Mr. Torreon told reporters, adding that the Philippines just isn’t an extension of the ICC.<\/p>\n The Philippines withdrew from the tribunal in March 2018, with the withdrawal of the Rome Statute taking effect a 12 months after the notification.<\/p>\n While the Philippines is not any longer a member of the ICC, the judicial body still has jurisdiction on the crimes against humanity of murder committed from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I do know is that the one warrant of arrest [that is] immediately effective here within the Philippines is the warrant issued by our local judges,\u201d Mr. Torreon said.<\/p>\n He said that he’s hoping that the Supreme Court will grant their request for a brief restraining order against the ICC warrant against Mr. dela Rosa.<\/p>\n Ferdinand S. Topacio, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino deputy spokesperson, said that the ICC arrest warrant is a \u201cpiece of paper\u201d within the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot give power to a foreign court and say that they’re a court of competent jurisdiction. We have now the authority to do this,\u201d he told reporters in a mixture of English and Filipino.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Palace said the Philippine government will afford protection to each Filipino after an embattled Mr. dela Rosa asked for cover from President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.<\/p>\n Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said the senator\u2019s plea for cover can be met in line with the law.<\/p>\n \u201cEven those extrajudicial killing victims are also asking for cover from the federal government,\u201d she told a briefing in Filipino, referring to drug war victims. \u201cSo, an accused like Senator Bato is asking for cover; everyone can be given protection in line with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf he’s arrested, all rights as an accused can be granted to him,\u201d said Ms. Castro.<\/p>\n Former President Mr. Duterte was arrested last March 2025 for his war on drugs, which killed 1000’s of Filipinos, mostly urban poor, without due process. He’s currently detained in The Hague, the Netherlands and is awaiting trial. \u2014 with<\/i> Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel <\/b>and <\/i>Chloe Mari A. Hufana<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SENATOR RONALD M. DELA ROSA \u2014 PHILIPPINE STAR\/NOEL B. PABALATE By Erika Mae P. Sinaking, Reporter SENATOR Ronald \u201cBato\u201d M. dela Rosa is now staying within the Senate after a high-stake standoff on Monday prompted the chamber to position him under protective custody, shielding him from arrest for his role within the Duterte administration\u2019s deadly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":333694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1581,51648,2860,3422,20941,8044,12517,30867,12681,571],"class_list":["post-333693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-arrest","tag-bato","tag-case","tag-drug","tag-icc","tag-pursues","tag-senate","tag-senator","tag-shields","tag-war"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333693"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333693\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":333696,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333693\/revisions\/333696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/b>Ephraim B. Cortez, president of the National Union of Peoples\u2019 Lawyers, said that invoking \u201cprotective custody\u201d to maintain the senator contained in the Senate premises amounts to effectively blocking the enforcement of a global legal process.<\/p>\n
<\/b>Also on Tuesday, the Supreme Court has been asked to nullify a legislative resolution for allegedly obstructing the judicial process and violating the doctrine of separation of powers.<\/p>\n
<\/b>Mr. dela Rosa\u2019s legal counsel Israelito P. Torreon said that the Philippine National Police cannot mechanically implement any foreign arrest warrant, noting that it should undergo local processes.<\/p>\n