The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) announced on Thursday that it will file a comment to Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s plea before the Supreme Court against the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

As the government’s statutory counsel, the OSG said it will file on behalf of all respondent government officials on or before May 16.

On Monday, May 11, Dela Rosa filed a manifestation appealing for immediate judicial protection and seeking guidance on the legal effect of the warrant in question.

In addition, he restated his request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) or writ of preliminary injunction barring his arrest or turnover to a foreign tribunal without local judicial authorization.

The Supreme Court gave respondent officials 72 hours to submit their comment on the manifestation. In turn, Dela Rosa is due to respond within the following 72 hours.

The ICC earlier confirmed that it had issued an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa, in connection with his alleged role as chief of national police in the extra-judicial killings (EJKs) during the former administration’s notorious Drug War.

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed Dela Rosa’s departure from the Senate, after reading a text message from Dela Rosa’s wife, who said the senator had not planned to leave but did so for safety reasons.