ISRAELITO TORREON| PHOTO FROM HIS FACEBOOK PAGE
Lawyer Israelito Torreon maintained in a statement that the execution of any foreign-issued warrant, including one from the International Criminal Court (ICC), must conform strictly to Philippine law and constitutional safeguards.
Torreon issued the remark after the Supreme Court confirmed that the Office of the Solicitor General had been allowed to resume its role as counsel in the pending petition of former President Rodrigo Duterte and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
He said they filed a comprehensive reply on December 3 addressing the OSG’s positions on ripeness, justiciability, the petitioners’ request for a TRO, and what he described as the OSG’s “sudden re-entry” into the case.
Torreon emphasized that Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9851 allows the surrender of individuals to an international tribunal only under an existing extradition law and a valid extradition treaty.
He noted that the Philippines has no extradition treaty with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and no agreement with the ICC, making any surrender legally untenable.
He also stressed that “no executive agency may enforce any foreign warrant” without a judicial warrant issued by a Philippine court under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution.
Torreon said these requirements “underscore the constitutional and statutory safeguards that protect the liberty of all persons within Philippine territory.”
The statement came as Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the government would enforce an ICC arrest warrant against dela Rosa if it is validated by the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime, the Department of Justice, or Interpol.
Dela Rosa, former police chief and architect of the Duterte administration’s drug war, has not appeared in the Senate since Ombudsman Samuel Martires’ brother, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, claimed he was shown a copy of an ICC warrant last month.
Duterte remains in ICC custody in The Hague over allegations of crimes against humanity linked to the anti-drug campaign.