The Philippine government is evaluating whether to pursue extradition or voluntary surrender for Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa if an arrest warrant is issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

RH Jecelle Ricafort reports that Chief State Counsel Dennis Arvin Chan of the Department of Justice (DOJ) said voluntary surrender could be a faster option compared to extradition, which involves several steps, including a formal request through the Department of Foreign Affairs, DOJ evaluation, and a court hearing to verify compliance with the extradition treaty and Philippine law—a process that could take months. “So we are looking at possibly months, whereas if surrender, very definitely shortened ang process time,” Chan explained.

Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said the DOJ is also awaiting the resolution of a pending Supreme Court petition filed by the camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Authorities are still discussing the “course of action to take” should the warrant materialize and stressed that they will follow the Supreme Court’s ruling on whether extradition or another approach is required.

“Right now, everybody's talking about a hypothetical situation… we are already in the process of discussing what course of action to take,” Fadullon said, adding that the government is seeking clarity before moving forward with any arrest.

The DOJ emphasized that all procedures will comply with Philippine law and international obligations, and no immediate action will be taken until all official documents are received.

The department also clarified that it has not yet received an official ICC arrest warrant against Senator Dela Rosa.

This comes following Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s statement on DZRH over the weekend suggesting that a warrant had been issued in connection with alleged crimes against humanity during the Duterte administration.