DOJ says petitions vs. Rody’s ICC arrest must be resolved first
Should the International Criminal Court formally issue an arrest warrant against Senator Bato dela Rosa, the lawmaker won’t immediately be sent to The Hague unlike what happened to former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Department of Justice on Thursday said.
Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said he believes the Supreme Court should first resolve pending petitions questioning Duterte’s arrest before executing any arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.
“I think that is the only time we will have clarity on the issue. It is better, in our view, to have a resolution first,” Fadullon said.
“This petition was only filed by Senator Bato after or during the time when the former President was about to be brought to The Hague. So now that there is a petition, we have to be a bit more cautious, be a bit more prudent,” he added.
The Supreme Court’s new rules on extradition proceedings, which took effect last month, requires courts to first determine probable cause before issuing warrants of arrest for extradition or surrender.
Dela Rosa earlier questioned the legality of Duterte’s arrest and surrender, which the government said was in accordance with the country’s commitment to Interpol as well as provisions under the Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
The Supreme Court, however, did not issue a temporary restraining order and has yet to rule on the matter.
Fadullon, however, clarified that the DOJ has yet to see a copy of Dela Rosa’s ICC arrest warrant.
He said the warrant will still go through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) before the DOJ will be notified.
For his part, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the government is aware of the location and movements of Dela Rosa, whom he said has been spotted in six locations in the past three weeks.
“We are monitoring him. We know where he is. And we are just waiting to see if there is an order from the court or not,” Remulla said in a television interview.
“He moves from house to house. He hides with his friends. Then he just stays inside the house. When he moves, he uses different cars,” the Interior chief added.
Should the ICC issue an arrest warrant, Remulla said its enforcement will be based on the Supreme Court ruling on extradition.
“According to the Supreme Court ruling on extradition, Senator Bato will be allowed to seek redress from the court. Even with the RTC, he can seek redress to deal with the matter. And whatever the court decides, that is what the government will do,” he added.
According to Dela Rosa’s lawyer, Israelito Torreon, the senator has been avoiding appearing in public because “his personal safety is at stake.”
“He is just making himself unavailable…Because it is not clear what the policy is, or we do not have a law as to how to deal with surrender,” Torreon said.
But for ICC-accredited lawyer Gilbert Andres, the enforcement of an ICC arrest warrant has legal basis in local law.
“An ICC arrest warrant is enforceable in the Philippines in accordance with Republic Act No. 9851 or the International Humanitarian Law Act, Section 17 of which provides, in part, that ‘the authorities may surrender … suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any,’” he told Manila Standard.
Andres, who is also the Executive Director of the Center for International Law (CenterLaw), urged Dela Rosa to voluntarily surrender to the ICC once an arrest warrant has been issued.
In a previous interview, ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti confirmed Dela Rosa is a co-perpetrator of the crimes charged against Duterte.
“We have maintained that a warrant against Bato Dela Rosa, Duterte’s co-perpetrator of crimes against humanity, is certain from what the victims know and what the prosecution has presented. It is up to the Marcos administration to enforce his arrest and surrender to the ICC,” she said.
Dela Rosa in March said he is considering hiding from authorities rather than surrendering to the ICC should it move to have him arrested.
“If we do not see any justice here in our country, why would you surrender?” Dela Rosa said. “That (not surrendering) is part of the course of action that can be done.”
