Despite the Supreme Court (SC) being packed with appointees of former president Rodrigo Duterte, International Criminal Court (ICC) suspect Senator Bato dela Rosa still failed to get his much-needed temporary restraining order (TRO) to block his warrant.
With a 9-5-1 vote, the SC justices ruled that Dela Rosa failed to prove he must be given a TRO.
Six out of 9 concurring justices are all appointees of Duterte, Dela Rosa’s ally. The other two, Leonen and Caguioa, are appointees of the late former president Benigno Aquino III, while Villanueva is the lone appointee of incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Duterte-appointee Gaerlan is the ponente or the resolution’s author. Meanwhile, the five dissenters were all appointed by the former president.
Dela Rosa, a suspect for a crimes against humanity case at the ICC, ran to the highest court of the land to seek a reprieve.
