The Supreme Court (SC) en banc has approved the Rules on Extradition Proceedings to ensure consistency, clarity, and efficiency in handling extradition cases — including applications for warrants of arrest, hold departure orders, and bail.
Extradition involves the transfer of an individual from the Philippines to a requesting foreign authority for criminal investigation or to serve a sentence. The process verifies if the request complies with applicable laws and treaties and determines whether the person is extraditable — without deciding on their guilt or innocence.
The SC clarified that extradition is allowed only when the offense is punishable under both Philippine law and the requesting state’s law, even if the terms or elements differ. It will also be permitted if the remaining sentence to be served abroad is at least six months.
An extradition case begins when the Secretary of Justice or an authorized state counsel files a verified petition before an extradition court, which will then have exclusive jurisdiction over the case. Before issuing arrest warrants, the court must ensure the petition is sufficient in form and substance and establish probable cause that the offense is extraditable and the accused is the same person identified in the foreign warrant.
The warrant can be served anywhere in the Philippines and uploaded electronically for nationwide enforcement. Arrested individuals will be detained at the NBI facility nearest the court handling the case. The court may also issue hold departure orders to prevent the extraditee from leaving the country.
If the extraditee faces local criminal charges, extradition may be delayed unless the Justice Secretary requests their temporary surrender. Appeals may be brought before the Court of Appeals, which must decide within 90 days, and its ruling will be final and executory.
In urgent cases, the Justice Secretary may authorize a provisional arrest before a formal extradition request is received. However, if no formal documents are submitted within 60 days, the extraditee must be released but may be rearrested if the request is later filed.
Those who voluntarily surrender may waive extradition proceedings through a notarized affidavit. Any property seized during arrest connected to the case may also be turned over to the requesting state.
All costs of extradition proceedings will be shouldered by the requesting state unless the treaty states otherwise.
The new rules take effect on November 10.