Philippines urges Supreme Court to allow dela Rosa ICC arrest

Government lawyers have asked the Supreme Court of the Philippines to clear the way for Ronald Marapon Dela Rosa’s arrest and surrender to the International Criminal Court, a move that could push one of the Duterte era’s most prominent security officials into international custody.

The Office of the Solicitor General filed its comment on May 16 and made it public the next day, urging the court to deny Dela Rosa’s request for a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the ICC warrant. Dela Rosa, a senator and former national police chief, has 72 hours from receipt of the filing to reply before the court is expected to act.

The stakes for Dela Rosa are personal and immediate. The ICC unsealed a secret arrest warrant for him on May 11, after originally issuing it on November 6, 2025. The court said there are reasonable grounds to believe he committed murder as a crime against humanity between July 3, 2016 and the end of April 2018, and that at least 32 people were killed in the incidents cited in the warrant. The warrant names Dela Rosa as a co-perpetrator in a common plan with former President Rodrigo Duterte to neutralize alleged criminals during the drug war.

Dela Rosa has argued that the ICC no longer has jurisdiction because the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019. The government’s filing rejected that position, saying the executive branch can still enforce the warrant. The ICC’s own Philippines page says its jurisdiction covers alleged crimes committed from November 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, and that the country’s withdrawal took effect on March 17, 2019. The court authorized its investigation into the Philippines on September 15, 2021.

The filing also lands amid fresh political turbulence. On May 13, Dela Rosa said his arrest was imminent and remained inside the Senate for days, while gunfire broke out inside the chamber that evening during the standoff. Police later identified and arrested Mel Oragon, a 44-year-old driver employed by the National Bureau of Investigation, as the suspected gunman. No casualties were reported, but the episode underscored how volatile the fight over the warrant had become.

The Supreme Court case is now a defining test of how far the Marcos administration is willing to go in revisiting Duterte-era impunity. Duterte himself had his ICC charges confirmed on April 23, after a hearing held from February 23 to 27, and faces crimes against humanity charges including murder and attempted murder. If the court sides with the government, Dela Rosa could be arrested and surrendered to The Hague, where Duterte is set to become the first former Asian head of state to go on trial. If it sides with Dela Rosa, one of Asia’s most closely watched accountability cases could slow sharply, and the political message would be unmistakable.