Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said Thursday that the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Senator Ronald dela Rosa can now be enforced following the absence of any restraining order from the Supreme Court.
Vida said the non-issuance of a temporary restraining order or any interim relief by the high court removed any legal obstacle to implementing the warrant.
“There is a valid arrest warrant issued by the ICC. He is not in the Senate premises. There is no TRO or any interim order from the Supreme Court. The arrest warrant is now enforceable,” Vida said during a press briefing.
The justice secretary said he had instructed law enforcement agencies, including the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police, to operationalize the arrest.
Vida also described dela Rosa, who has reportedly been outside Senate custody since last week, as a “fugitive from justice.”
“Senator Bato is a fugitive from justice, and he should be brought to the ICC to face the charges before him,” he said.
Vida said authorities have information on dela Rosa’s whereabouts but declined to disclose details.
“There are leads. As to the exact leads, I cannot discuss them,” he said. “First, I’m not privy to those leads. They are available to our law enforcement agencies and to their units.”
The Department of Justice later appealed to dela Rosa to voluntarily surrender to authorities to avoid the need for law enforcement operations against the senator.
