MANILA, Philippines — The legal team of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Monday warned that the Philippine government has no legal basis to invoke Section 17 of Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity to justify surrendering the senator to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The statement, made through the Law Firm of Torreon and Partners headed by Israelito Torreon, was issued amid reports that the ICC has issued a warrant of arrest against Dela Rosa, with a diffusion order allegedly circulated to international law enforcement agencies for possible surveillance and enforcement.
The legal team said there were indications that the government may again rely on Section 17 of RA 9851 to justify the “immediate surrender” of Dela Rosa to The Hague.
“The government cannot rely on Section 17 of RA 9851 to surrender Senator Dela Rosa to the ICC without a valid extradition process or judicial authorization,” the statement read. “Such invocation constitutes a misreading of the statute, a distortion of its intent, and a direct violation of the 1987 Constitution.”
The legal team explained that Section 17 is not self-executing and must be read in conjunction with applicable extradition laws and treaties.
“There is no extradition treaty between the Philippines and the ICC, nor any implementing instrument that allows the direct execution of ICC warrants,” the firm said. “Without such a framework, the government has no legal basis to turn over any Filipino citizen to the ICC.”
Torreon and his partners argued that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019 extinguished all treaty-based obligations of cooperation with the ICC.
“Section 17 cannot revive a treaty that no longer exists,” they noted. “Only the Senate, through its power of concurrence, can restore such obligations—and no such act has been undertaken.”
