OSG welcomes SC decision to deny Bato dela Rosa's TRO request

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court to deny the request of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or status quo ante order (SQAO) in connection with his possible arrest based on the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"The denial of Senator Dela Rosa’s application for injunctive relief, which includes TRO, SQAO and writ of preliminary injunction (WPI), indicates that the Court found no basis to stop the implementation of the ICC warrant," according to the statement issued by the OSG.

The OSG further said that a TRO, if issued by the Supreme Court, would have enjoined the implementation of the ICC warrant until further orders while a WPI would have had the same effect as a TRO, but it is usually issued after affording parties the opportunity to be heard.

"Meanwhile, had the ICC warrant been implemented, an SQAO would have ordered the respondents to undo its implementation to revert the parties to the last, actual, peaceable and uncontested state of things before the controversy."

The OSG opposed the issuance of any injunctive relief, pointing out several issues. Dela Rosa failed to establish the basic requisites required by the rules, he failed to demonstrate a clear and unmistakable right that required immediate protection, he failed to show an actual or imminent violation of such right, and the CIDG subpoena he invoked had already been recalled, and that he failed to establish an urgent and irreparable injury that would justify the Court’s intervention.

"The OSG likewise humbly exhorted the Court to look at the law, and more importantly the highest purpose of law which is to attain justice. It noted that Senator Dela Rosa’s case compels the nation to confront a far deeper question for the Filipino people: in the face of his prosecution for crimes against humanity, our response will demonstrate what commitment to justice and the rule of law truly mean for our nation."

The SC also said that it only resolved the requests for interim relief, particularly the TRO and SQAO, and has yet to rule on the main legal issues, such as whether Philippine officers may enforce an ICC warrant without a Philippine judicial warrant and whether it can be implemented despite the country's exit from the tribunal.

The OSG now waiting for the Supreme Court’s full ruling for the other preliminary issues.

On May 11, the ICC unsealed the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa for the crime against humanity of murder, at least between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, during which no less than 32 individuals were killed in the Philippines as part of then-President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs. — BAP, GMA News