The Supreme Court En Banc, during a special session on May 20, 2026, denied the request of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or status quo ante order (SQAO) in relation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.
In a 9-5-1 vote, the High Court rejected Dela Rosa’s plea seeking to stop government agencies from enforcing any ICC warrant, Interpol red notice or diffusion, or foreign judicial and quasi-judicial instrument without a Philippine court warrant.
Included in the petition were the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
The ICC warrant identified Dela Rosa as a “co-perpetrator” in the crimes against humanity case involving former President Rodrigo Duterte in connection with the administration’s war on drugs.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Solicitor General argued that Republic Act 9851 authorizes the Philippine government to enforce ICC arrest warrants even without validation from local courts.
The Supreme Court clarified that its ruling only covered the requests for interim relief, while the main issues raised in the petition remain pending before the court.
