Bato is a fugitive, PH is bound to implement ICC arrest warrant — OSG

“The essence of being a fugitive from justice lies in the deliberate act of placing oneself beyond the reach of law enforcement.”

MANILA — The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has declared Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa a fugitive, and urged the Supreme Court (SC) to deny the motions filed by the former police chief.

Dela Rosa has filed three manifestations before the SC in an attempt to prevent his arrest. 

In its comment to the motions, the OSG argued that the Philippine government, through the executive department, can legally enforce the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Dela Rosa pursuant to the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity (RA 9851).

“The enforcement of an ICC warrant of arrest does not require a corresponding warrant of arrest issued by a Philippine court to be enforceable within the Philippine jurisdiction,” the OSG wrote.

Section 17 of the RA 9851 authorizes the Philippine authorities to surrender or extradite a suspected or accused person when an international court or tribunal is already conducting an investigation or prosecution of a crime punishable under the said law — crimes against humanity is both punishable in the Philippine penal law and the Rome Statute.

The OSG also stated that Dela Rosa’s deliberate evasion of arrest makes him a fugitive. “The essence of being a fugitive from justice lies in the deliberate act of placing oneself beyond the reach of law enforcement,” the OSG said in its 83-page comment.

Domestic and international laws operate independently. However, the OSG clarified that the former cannot shield Dela Rosa from being tried before an international court. The implementation of the ICC arrest warrant is within the power of the executive branch.

“To emphasize, Senator Dela Rosa is not charged with any ordinary crime before the ICC. He is charged with crimes against humanity through murder and attempted murder, crimes so heinous that the international community considers them as an assault against the collective conscience of humanity,” the OSG said.

The OSG asserted that it is inaccurate for Senator Dela Rosa to say that he was not afforded any semblance of due process, adding that record shows that he was granted every opportunity to be heard,” the OSG added.

The OSG further said that the essence of due process is that the accused can only be arrested upon a judicial determination by a court of competent jurisdiction. The ICC already issued the arrest warrant after finding reasonable grounds to believe that Dela Rosa committed the crime. 

“Thus, the issuance of the ICC warrant itself already presupposes judicial evaluation and independent determination by a competent tribunal,” OSG said, noting that the Rome Statute already guarantees extensive due process rights including right to be informed of the accusation, the right to counsel, the right to challenge the court’s jurisdiction, and the right to contest the admissibility of the case.

Further, the OSG maintained that despite the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, it remains legally bound to cooperate with the ICC since it is authorized under the Section 15 of RA 9851.

The section enumerates the applicability of several international laws, including the 1948 Genocide Convention; 1949 Geneva Conventions I-IV and their Additional Protocols I, II, and III; the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its first and second protocols; and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and its 2000 Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.

Moreover, the ICC Appeals Chamber already confirmed its jurisdiction in Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity, in which Dela Rosa and several high officials are identified as co-perpetrators.  

It emphasized that the Court has the power to exercise its jurisdiction, pursuant to the article 127 (2) of the Rome Statute. The provision stipulates that the State shall not be discharged from any obligations by the reason of its withdrawal – it shall not affect any criminal investigations and proceedings of the ICC, especially crimes committed prior to the withdrawal.

This means that the ICC is authorized to investigate and prosecute all possible crimes against humanity committed until March 17, 2019, or the day the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute took effect.

Read: Duterte defeated twice on ICC jurisdiction challenge

Dela Rosa was placed under “protective custody” by the Senate on May 13, 2026z

Read: UN, ASEAN and the Senate scandal

The next day, May 14, Dela Rosa was reportedly out of the Senate’s premises. 

“Harboring such a criminal accused of crimes against humanity deserves an international outrage,” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of human rights group Karapatan. “We remind the government that Bato is an international fugitive.”

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) estimates that in December 2018, the number of drug-war killings could be as high as 27,000. Despite these high numbers, only five cases have been prosecuted — some if it remains on appeal. 

Dela Rosa is the second Filipino issued with a confirmed ICC arrest warrant. 

The ICC found reasonable grounds to believe that Dela Rosa had contributed to the common plan in enforcing widespread and systematic attacks in his official capacity as former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and Davao City Police chief during the Duterte administration.

The ICC has also identified other Duterte co-perpetrators including Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan (deceased), Oscar Albayalde and Isidro Lapeña.

“All of Bato’s and Duterte’s accomplices inside the Senate must also be held accountable. This further exposes that they are not serving the people, but rather their own narrow and self-serving political interests,” said Dahlia Cuartero, mother of drug war victim Jesus Cuartero III. (RVO)

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