FACT CHECK: No Supreme Court order blocking Dela Rosa’s ICC arrest

Claim: The Supreme Court (SC) ruled that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will not be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A YouTube video uploaded on May 25 by the channel “POLITICAL PH TV” bore the title “Yes! Sa wakas! Kapapasok lang! Korte, nag desisyon na! Bato hindi e-bibigay sa ICC! DOJ at NBI, pahiya!” 

(Yes! Finally! Just in! The court made a decision! Bato will not be handed over to the ICC! DOJ and NBI embarrassed!) 

The thumbnail reiterates the claim, with superimposed text reading “Yes! Sa wakas! Korte Suprema, nagdesisyon! DOJ at NBI, pahiya nanaman!” (Yes! Finally! The Supreme Court decided! DOJ and NBI embarrassed again!) alongside images of Dela Rosa and what appears to be a document labeled “confirmed.”

As of writing, the video has garnered over 11,200 views and 1,500 likes.

The facts: The Supreme Court has not issued a ruling blocking Dela Rosa’s arrest. It has not yet decided the senator’s main petition regarding the ICC’s warrant of arrest and the international tribunal’s jurisdiction in the country. 

The SC clarified that only Dela Rosa’s request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the ICC arrest warrant was decided by the court. On May 20, SC justices voted 9-5-1 to deny Dela Rosa’s prayer for a TRO. (READ: Why Bato didn’t get TRO in Supreme Court packed with Duterte appointees)

“There is still no decision on the main petition as stated in the Court’s Press Release last Wednesday,” the SC said in a statement on May 24. 

On May 21, acting Department of Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida confirmed that authorities were actively searching for Dela Rosa, describing him as “a fugitive from justice” who “should be brought to the ICC to face the charges against him.” (READ: Marcos gov’t is now willing to arrest Bato dela Rosa. What happens next?) 

Request denied: In its decision denying the request for a TRO, the SC said that Dela Rosa failed to establish a clear legal right warranting protection through a TRO, noting that he did not prove an urgent need to prevent irreparable injury or show that no other adequate legal remedy was available.

The SC has yet to decide on Dela Rosa’s main petition, which argues that the ICC lost jurisdiction after the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019.

The senator’s whereabouts remain unknown since he fled the Senate before dawn on May 14, shortly after gunfire broke out earlier that evening.

The upper chamber had given Dela Rosa protective custody amid the ICC’s issuance of a warrant of arrest against him. Dela Rosa, who was police chief during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, is accused of crimes against humanity linked to the Duterte-era drug war. – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com

Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar who graduated with a degree in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. Cyril is also a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024. 

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