Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s legal counsel, Atty. Israelito “Bobbet” Torreon said on Monday that it was “very wrong” for the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant to have been served without having been processed in a Philippine court, and through former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, whom he identified as a civilian.

In an interview on Balansyado, Torreon said that the warrant should have gone through the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), and emphasized that as a civilian, Trillanes was not authorized to serve an arrest warrant.

“Maling-mali po ‘yun na isang sibilyan na hindi naman siya public officer ay siyang may hawak ng ICC warrant. Dapat sa PCTC ‘yan dinaan. Tsaka pangalawa, anong kapangyarihan niyang mag-enforce ng ICC warrant?” Torreon told the anchors, adding that foreign warrants must be processed through a Philippine court to take effect locally.

“Under Rule 39 Section 48 of the Rules of Court, hindi foreign processes po, bago ‘yan ipa-effect dito sa Pilipinas, dapat ipa-confirm ‘yan in a Philippine court,” he said.

Moreover, the lawyer said that no Filipino citizen should be deprived of liberty without due process, as stated in the Constitution.

“(Trillanes) will forever be judged in history as a traitor to the Republic of the Philippines,” Torreon said, should dela Rosa be arrested and brought to The Hague.

Earlier, he said that dela Rosa’s camp received an intelligence report about a plane being made ready to fly the senator to the Netherlands, which is currently being verified.

The lawyer added that the report may be true, as it aligns with the arrest warrant having been brought to the Senate in time for dela Rosa’s appearance after a six-month absence.