Bato wants SC to prohibit his arrest

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May 20, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Signaling he has no intention to surrender to authorities under present conditions, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to bar the government and former senator Antonio Trillanes IV from arresting him.

The senator, through his counsel Israelito Torreon, filed a 117-page reply to the SC on May 18 reiterating his request for  the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO), after the alleged armed attempt to enforce the “secret” or sealed warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.

Dela Rosa also asked the High Court to prohibit the government, especially the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police, the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), former senator Trillanes and other persons from arresting, detaining, surrendering and removing him from the country on the basis of the ICC warrant.

They should also be prohibited from entering or returning to the Senate to implement the arrest and removal of Dela Rosa or any sitting senator without a valid Philippine court-issued warrant, the senator urged.

Additionally, they should also be barred from directly or indirectly interfering with his rights and duty to attend sessions, cast vote and participate in the deliberations in the Senate, Dela Rosa wrote in his reply.

Last May 11, NBI agents and Trillanes reportedly attempted to serve the ICC warrant of arrest and gave chase to Dela Rosa until he entered the Senate Session Hall.

On May 13, a shooting incident took place inside the Senate building.

The High Court was also asked to issue a Writ of Preliminary Injunction and grant all other reliefs prayed for by the petitioner.

Dela Rosa’s camp said its petition for TRO and other legal remedies is not meant to claim exemption from legal accountability.

“Petitioner does not ask this Honorable Court to acquit him. He asks only that before any Filipino citizen is seized on Philippine soil pursuant to a foreign or international process, that process must first be made enforceable under Philippine law and subjected to prior Philippine judicial determination. This is the minimum that Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution has always required,” the reply further read. — Bella Cariaso