Arrest warrant can't be served to legal counsel —Matibag

An arrest warrant cannot be served to the suspected individual's legal counsel, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag maintained on Friday.

“Because the warrant should be served personally. That is under the Rules of Court. Hindi ko alam kung saan nanggaling ‘yung idea na ibigay mo sa abugado, siya mag se-serve. Baka nagkaroon lang ng mix up na ‘yung subpoena, ‘yung summons sa warrant,” Matibag said in a press briefing when sought for comment.

(But, no. Because the warrant should be served personally. That is under the Rules of Court. I do not know where the idea came from that you give it to the lawyer and let the lawyer serve it. Maybe there was just a mix-up between a subpoena, a summons, and a warrant.)

“Iba po ‘yung warrant. The warrant of arrest under the Rules of Court should be received personally by the one being arrested,” he added.

(It’s different when it comes to a warrant. The warrant of arrest under the Rules of Court should be received personally by the one being arrested.)

This comes amid a viral video of lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s legal counsel, saying in a TV interview that the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant "may be served to the senator’s lawyers."

Bondoc, Trillanes

When sought for comment, Bondoc recalled how former Senator Antonio Trillanes attempted to serve the warrant on May 11.

“We argued that if under their rules, they allow any private citizen to serve a warrant, then they should allow us to serve the warrant too, because if they break the rules for one side, then they should expect a call for equality from the other,” Bondoc said.

“I assure the supporters that our grasp of domestic rules remains strong,” he added.

NBI agents initially attempted to serve the warrant against Dela Rosa. Matibag said the senator pushed the two female agents about to serve him the arrest warrant, leading to a chase inside the Senate building.

Following this, Trillanes presented the copy of the warrant to the media. He said he was with the NBI in compliance with Dela Rosa’s previous request.

Bondoc maintained that the ICC warrant is not enforceable unless the Supreme Court determines it to be so.

ICC warrant

Dela Rosa is the subject of an arrest warrant for “alleged criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator” in the crimes against humanity of murder from July 3, 2016, until the end of April 2018, wherein at least 32 persons died.

On Thursday, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the NBI and the Philippine National Police have been tasked to arrest Dela Rosa, saying he is a “fugitive from justice and should be brought to the ICC.”

Earlier, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said that tracker teams have been deployed to locate and arrest Dela Rosa.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag also said that a dedicated team is already tracking and locating Dela Rosa. —VAL, GMA News