SC on Dela Rosa TRO denial: No invasion of rights
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa “has no clear and unmistakable right to be protected,” the Supreme Court (SC) said in its resolution denying the senator’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have blocked local authorities from acting on an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him without a Philippine court order.
The SC released late Monday the official copy of the resolution rejecting Dela Rosa’s plea.
On May 20, the high court, voting 9-5-1, issued the TRO denial, while also clarifying that it only decided on that appeal and that “the main issues raised by the parties in their pleadings and motions are yet to be resolved in the main case.”
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo led the nine justices who voted for the denial of the TRO. The other Justices were Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Filomena Singh, Rodil Zalameda, Samuel Gaerlan, Jose Midas Marquez, Jhosep Lopez, and Raul Villanueva.
READ: SC clarifies no ruling yet on Dela Rosa petition on ICC jurisdiction
The five justices who dissented were Associate Justices Ramon Paul Hernando, Henry Jean Paul Inting, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Antonio Kho, and Ricardo Rosario.
Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao was on leave when the issue was tackled in a special en banc session.
READ: No sanctuary: Why SC denied Sen. Dela Rosa’s TRO bid
Dela Rosa had argued that the enforcement of the ICC warrant directly threatened his fundamental constitutional rights to liberty, due process, and his ability to fulfill his legislative functions as a sitting member of the Senate.
But the SC rejected Dela Rosa’s arguments, saying that the rights he is asserting are heavily disputed and highly contingent on his main petition.
To be entitled to a restraining order, the SC explained, is a “right in esse,” meaning a “clear and unmistakable right granted as a matter of law.”
“There is no material and substantial invasion of Senator Dela Rosa’s rights. In the first place, Senator Dela Rosa has no clear and unmistakable right to be protected. He was also given protective custody by the Senate in the interim, which prevented the alleged service or implementation of the ICC warrant as well as his arrest,” the SC said.
It also took “judicial notice of [President Marcos’] declaration in his Facebook live on May 13, 2026, that he has not issued an instruction or directive to arrest Senator Dela Rosa.”
“Hence, Senator Dela Rosa’s claimed invasion of his purported rights is more imagined than real,” the SC declared.
The high court added that since Dela Rosa failed to show any meritorious ground for the issuance of a TRO in his favor, “the possibility of irreparable damage, without proof of an existing right, is not ground for injunction.”
Earlier on Monday, Dela Rosa’s wife appealed to the judiciary not to allow her husband to be handed over to the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands.
“Please do not be an accessory to bringing my husband to The Hague. Every Filipino must be tried in his own country,” said Nancy dela Rosa in a post on her Facebook account.
“Granting the people in power permission to voluntarily surrender another Filipino is an admission that you are weak and incapable of handling this case, thus the need for an international court to intervene. You are a group of great minds,” she added.
Nancy urged the justices to immediately decide on Dela Rosa’s case, as any delay in legal proceedings would supposedly be disadvantageous to the senator.
“We do not have the luxury of time to wait for your technical arguments and debates. Every moment you remain undecided is an opportunity for them to close in on Bato,” she said.
Revoke arms licenses
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation has asked the Philippine National Police to cancel the licenses of firearms registered under the name of Dela Rosa, the agency’s director confirmed on Monday.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the bureau has sent the formal request letter to the PNP, following his statement last weekend that Dela Rosa — who is at large after sneaking out of the Senate on May 14 and evading being served the ICC arrest warrant — is already presumed to be “armed and dangerous” under existing protocols.
However, the PNP on Monday said it had yet to receive the NBI’s request.
“The PNP has not yet received any formal request from the National Bureau of Investigation regarding the revocation of the firearms licenses of [Senator Dela Rosa],” the PNP’s public information chief, Col. Allen Rae Co, told reporters in a text message.
Republic Act No. 10591, or the Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, tasks the PNP to enforce the country’s rules related to guns.
Different gun types
According to Matibag, the firearms registered under Dela Rosa’s name, previously reported as over a hundred, include various types of guns.
“I saw the list. It’s mixed. There are automatic rifles and sidearms. There are high-powered guns and shotguns,” he said in Filipino.
The firearm addresses are all in Davao, he added.
Matibag stressed that firearm ownership is a privilege and may be revoked by the government at any time. Once canceled, possession of the firearms would become illegal and subject to confiscation or surrender, he added.
“So because he is now considered a fugitive from justice, my personal position is that it should be canceled,” he said.
Matibag said the NBI is coordinating with the PNP to track down Dela Rosa and eventually arrest him.
‘Immediate’ enforcement
Last Thursday, the Department of Justice ordered the two agencies to implement the ICC warrant against Dela Rosa after the Supreme Court denied his TRO bid.
Dela Rosa is among the personalities tagged as co-perpetrators in the crimes against humanity case filed against Duterte before the ICC. He served as PNP chief from 2016 to 2018.
Around 12,000 to 30,000 individuals were killed during the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war, according to the investigation by then ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. —With a report from Jason Sigales /atm
