Lacson says local court order needed before ICC arrest

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February 16, 2026 | 4:42pm

MANILA, Philippines — A domestic court order should precede the implementation of any arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson reminded authorities.

In a statement Monday, January 16, Lacson said his position was not meant to sheild his fellow senators, Bato dela Rosa and Bong Go, from charges at the ICC.

The ICC prosecutor named Dela Rosa and Go over the weekend as "co-perpetrators" of former president Rodrigo Duterte in his deadly drug war.

While no arrest order has been issued or charges filed against them, Lacson stressed the application of domestic laws ahead of these developments.

"To those who criticize my opinion on the need for a corresponding domestic court order before the ICC warrants of arrest against our fellow senators and others may be implemented, let me be clear: what I am protecting is our country’s legal processes as enshrined in Article III Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution, not Senators Ronald de la Rosa and Bong Go," Lacson wrote on X.

In saying so, Lacson was citing a constitutional provision stating that:

"No search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized."

Legal opinions on Duterte's arrest by government authorities in 2025 have been mixed, with some saying that the warrant should have passed through a local court. 

But other legal experts argued that Republic Act 9851 or the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity" made the ICC warrant against Duterte valid. 

.Lacson acknowledged the differences in views.

"Despite contrasting legal opinions on the matter, at the proper time, it is only the Supreme Court that will interpret the constitutional provision and legal procedure in this regard," he said.

Dela Rosa has not appeared in public or attended Senate sessions since November 2025, following reports that an ICC arrest warrant may be issued against him.