De Lima: Local courts don’t have to issue order for dela Rosa’s arrest

MANILA, Philippines — It is not true that a local court needs to issue an arrest order against Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa before he can be taken into custody for cases at the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima said on Tuesday.

In an ambush interview, de Lima pointed to provisions in  Republic Act No. 9851 — or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity — that allow local authorities to surrender accused individuals to international tribunals already investigating or prosecuting the crime.

“With how I read the law, Republic Act No. 9851, authorities can surrender a subject of an international warrant or warrant issued by an international tribunal when it is already […] under investigation and prosecution,” de Lima told reporters inside the Batasang Pambansa complex.

“It is not stated there that there has to be a locally-issued warrant of arrest that would complement, so that the international warrant can be implemented. So the law is there, Republic Act No. 9851, it has not been repealed, it has not been amended. It stays, so the position is that we need a local warrant of arrest, that has no legal basis,” she added.

De Lima — a lawyer and a former secretary of the Department of Justice — was referring to R.A. No. 9851’s Section 17 inside Chapter VII, which deals with jurisdiction.

Under the said section, local authorities can dispense with an investigation of a crime against international humanitarian law if another international court or tribunal is already doing a probe.

“In the interest of justice, the relevant Philippine authorities may dispense with the investigation or prosecution of a crime punishable under this Act if another court or international tribunal is already conducting the investigation or undertaking the prosecution of such crime,” Section 17 states.

“Instead, the authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to the appropriate international court, if any, or to another State pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties,” it added.

Dela Rosa and his allies have challenged the alleged arrest order against the senator. On Monday afternoon, after the Senate resumed its session, observers and members of the media in the Senate were surprised to see dela Rosa in the plenary hall, returning to the chamber after around six months of absence.

WATCH: Dela Rosa attends Senate plenary for the first time since Nov. 11

Later on, it was revealed that dela Rosa ran within the Senate premises just to avoid what was supposedly an attempt to enforce the ICC’s arrest order.

Dela Rosa was eventually placed under the Senate’s protective custody, after a motion from Sen. Rodante Marcoleta during the plenary session.

READ: Sen. Dela Rosa placed under Senate protective custody

After this foiled attempt to arrest dela Rosa, several of his allies — including Vice President Sara Duterte — said that authorities’ move was wrong since foreign-issued warrants should first pass through Philippine courts.

In a May 11 interview with the Filipino community in The Hague, Netherlands, Duterte was asked for her thoughts on the Senate lockdown following attempts to serve the ICC warrant against dela Rosa.

The ICC on Monday night confirmed the authenticity of the arrest warrant issued against dela Rosa, whom prosecutors previously identified as one of the co-perpetrators in implementing the drug war of the past administration, headed by Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The older Duterte has been detained under ICC’s jurisdiction since March 2025.

READ: Sara Duterte: Arresting Bato ‘wrong,’ ICC warrant needs PH court nod

With the ICC confirming the arrest order, de Lima said dela Rosa can be arrested anytime — whether inside or outside the Senate — because of R.A. No. 9851’s provisions and due to the fact that parliamentary immunity only applies to cases that are punishable by jail sentences not exceeding six years.

“Yes, whether outside or inside the Senate premises, he is not covered by parliamentary immunity, so strictly speaking, the warrant of arrest can be enforced immediately even if he is inside. If he does not want to go out, if he insists on staying, that is an option of the arresting team because they have the legal authority to do so,” she said.

“There is such a thing, parliamentary privilege from arrest if Congress is in session, but it is applicable only when the imposable penalty is less than six years.  So if it is above six years — and clearly the crime against humanity is punishable by reclusion perpetua (he can be arrested),” she added.

De Lima said this is the reason why she surrendered when an arrest order was released for the drug related cases filed against her in 2017 — all of which have been dismissed.

“In my case, I did not ask the Senate to take care of me, I surrendered and then they officially served the warrant of arrest against me,” she said.

“What happened during that time, on Feb. 13, 2017, when I heard on the news that a warrant of arrest has been released against me, for those alleged illegal drug cases, those trumped-up illegal drug trafficking charges, I went home first to say goodbye to my family and get my things,” she added. /das

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