MANILA — The legal team of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa asserted Wednesday that the Philippine government has no legal basis under international or domestic law to immediately arrest and surrender the senator to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Atty. Israelito Torreon, Dela Rosa’s counsel, said Republic Act No. 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, is not self-executing because it lacks implementing rules and regulations (IRR) that would define the process for surrendering an individual to an international tribunal.
Torreon cited Section 17 of the law, which states that the Philippines “may surrender or extradite a person to another court or international tribunal that is conducting the investigation or prosecution of crimes punishable under this Act, pursuant to applicable extradition laws and treaties.”
“However, it must be stressed that no Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) have ever been promulgated by the Department of Justice, the Department of Foreign Affairs, or any other competent authority to define or govern the specific process by which such ‘surrender’ may be effected,” Torreon said in a statement.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier said that Dela Rosa could be surrendered to the ICC under RA 9851 should a warrant of arrest be officially issued against him, noting that the same law was cited in relation to the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin had also floated extradition proceedings as another possible legal route, though the DOJ admitted this process could take longer.
Torreon argued that the wording of RA 9851 implies a conditional and not automatic surrender, since it explicitly requires that such action be “pursuant to applicable laws and treaties.”
“The act of surrendering a Filipino citizen to a foreign or international tribunal constitutes the gravest form of deprivation of liberty, involving physical transfer outside the jurisdiction of Philippine courts,” he said.
In contrast, DOJ Chief State Counsel Dennis Chan maintained during a briefing on Tuesday that the law is self-executing, asserting that RA 9851 was enacted as part of the Philippines’ commitment upon joining the ICC.
“It is the position of the department that RA No. 9851 was the state’s response to its becoming a member of the ICC. By virtue of that accession, Congress intended the provisions under RA No. 9851 to be self-executing,” Chan said.
He added that, unlike other laws or constitutional provisions such as the anti-political dynasty clause that require further legislation, “in the case of surrender under RA 9851, it is already self-executing; there is no more need for subsequent legislation to fill in the gaps.”