THE Department of Justice (DOJ) stood firm on its position that the Philippine government may surrender an arrested person to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a press conference on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez cited the provisions under Republic Act 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
“Same position. Under RA 9851, we may surrender a suspected or arrested person in the Philippines to the appropriate international court or tribunal. The other mode is extradition,” said Martinez.
The extradition proceedings require a local court order allowing the implementation of the extraditee’s surrender to the requesting state, in this case the ICC.
The court process will be triggered by a petition for extradition from the ICC in which the Philippines is no longer a part of since Duterte ordered the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, in 2019.
However, Martinez said the DOJ is still awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) on the matter.
The issue was revived following the unsealing of an arrest warrant by the ICC to Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who was named as a co-perpetrator of former President Rodrigo Duterte in the crime against humanity of murder charges in relation to the implementation of his drug war.
The National Bureau of Investigation attempted but failed to arrest Dela Rosa during his return to the Senate on Monday, May 11, after his six-month absence.
He was later placed by the Senate under protective custody until he is able to get all and exhaust all legal remedies to protect himself and until the institution is able to do just the same.
Dela Rosa’s legal counsel sought the intervention of the SC for the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the lawmaker’s arrest. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)