Metro Manila, Philippines – The Supreme Court has denied Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s plea for a temporary restraining order on the implementation of a possible International Criminal Court arrest warrant, ruling that his motion relied heavily on “unverified reports and allegations” and failed to establish a clear legal right that needed protection.
In an eight-page resolution dated May 20, the full court rejected the request for a stay order or status quo ante order that would have barred agencies from arresting or surrendering him to the ICC without a local court warrant.
It said Dela Rosa failed to prove the essential requirements for injunctive relief, including the existence of a “clear and unmistakable right” and an actual threat of irreparable injury.
“Senator Dela Rosa has no right in esse,” the court said, referring to the absence of an established legal right that may be protected by injunction.
The tribunal said Dela Rosa’s arguments depended on unresolved constitutional questions, including whether ICC warrants remain enforceable after the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute – the treaty that created the ICC – and whether the executive branch may recognize or implement such warrants.
It said Dela Rosa’s alleged rights were “contingent, abstract, or future rights,” which cannot be protected through injunction.
The ruling also pointed to factual inconsistencies in the senator’s claims that he was under imminent threat of arrest.
The Office of the Solicitor General argued that Dela Rosa had continued to move freely inside the Senate complex and was under “protective custody” of the Senate.
The court also cited statements from Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirming that Dela Rosa was no longer inside the Senate premises, “strongly suggesting” that he “remained physically at liberty to leave the Senate at any time.”
Authorities have since publicly acknowledged that Dela Rosa could no longer be located, with government officials earlier tagging the senator as a fugitive from justice after an ICC warrant was reportedly transmitted to Philippine authorities.
In denying the plea, the court said the senator’s filing itself admitted the existence of unresolved factual issues.
“Meanwhile, it does not escape the attention of the Court that the Very Urgent Manifestation filed by Senator Dela Rosa is filled with unverified reports and allegations,” the resolution stated.
The court said it “cannot issue a TRO or SQAO… based on alleged facts or situations that are merely speculative.”
The ruling was not unanimous.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo concurred with the majority to deny the plea, while Associate Justices Ramon Paul Hernando, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Ricardo Rosario, Henri Jean Paul Inting, and Mario Lopez Kho Jr. dissented.
