PDP Laban asks Supreme Court to rule on pending ICC jurisdiction petitions

The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) has called on the Supreme Court to promptly decide the petitions questioning the International Criminal Court's (ICC) jurisdiction over the Philippines, according to Edge Davao.

In a letter dated October 31 and addressed to the chief justice and associate justices, PDP Laban acting chairman Alfonso Cusi noted that the petitions have been pending for nearly 600 days. He warned that continued delay could have serious consequences for everyone involved.

Cusi stressed that no Philippine court has issued an arrest warrant against former President Rodrigo Duterte or Senator Ronald dela Rosa. Both face allegations of crimes against humanity linked to the Duterte administration's anti-drug campaign. The ICC has issued separate warrants for the two; Duterte is detained in The Hague awaiting trial, while dela Rosa remains in hiding.

Cusi said the party would accept the court's ruling on whether the ICC warrant against dela Rosa can be lawfully enforced, and asked the government to do likewise if the court rules otherwise. He described dela Rosa's separate petition, filed this year, as equally urgent. "Senator Dela Rosa's petition is no less urgent, for here delay risks bloodshed," Cusi wrote, adding that any violence could also reflect on those who had the chance to prevent it.

He argued that the prolonged proceedings hurt both sides: families of those killed in the anti-drug campaign who are seeking accountability, and the petitioners waiting for a ruling on their rights. Although Duterte and dela Rosa are PDP Laban members, Cusi said the party wrote as a concerned third party.

Duterte and dela Rosa filed the main petition on March 11, 2025, challenging the government's cooperation with the ICC and seeking to block enforcement of the tribunal's warrants. In May 2026, the Supreme Court denied dela Rosa's request for a temporary restraining order and a status quo ante order against his arrest, but said it had yet to rule on the substantive issues.

The ICC unsealed its warrant against dela Rosa on May 11, 2026, alleging that he bears responsibility for the crime against humanity of murder in connection with the anti-drug campaign.