The Supreme Court has permitted the Office of the Solicitor General to resume representing the government in petitions contesting the legality of former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court. This follows the OSG's recusal in March and the Department of Justice's takeover of the case. The ruling enables the OSG to comment on manifestations from Duterte's camp.
In December 2025, the Supreme Court ruled to allow the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), now headed by Solicitor General Darlene Marie Berberabe, to re-enter as the government's legal representative in petitions challenging the arrest and handover of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In March, former Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra recused from the petition, stating he could not effectively represent the government's position due to its firm stance that the Philippines has no legal obligation to cooperate with the ICC following the country's withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019. Consequently, in April, the Department of Justice assumed control of the case.
The OSG's re-entry became feasible after receiving a Supreme Court resolution in November, which required comments on the urgent manifestation from the camps of Duterte and Senator Ronald dela Rosa seeking to halt the enforcement of an arrest warrant against dela Rosa, if any exists.
Berberabe explained that the decision was 'based on our totality of the facts, including those that have unfolded since March 2025 and our understanding of the law as it should apply to those facts.'
Paolo Duterte, counsel for Veronica Duterte who filed a habeas corpus petition regarding her father's arrest, stated: 'You cannot defend the indefensible. Treason cannot be disguised as international cooperation, and submission to the Constitution cannot be optional. Former solicitor general Menardo Guevarra got it right the first time.'
Additionally, Israelito Torreon, counsel for Duterte and dela Rosa, filed a reply to the OSG's manifestation, maintaining that Republic Act No. 9851 cannot be invoked without an extradition treaty between the Philippines and the ICC, and that no executive agency can enforce a foreign warrant without a judicial warrant under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution.