Despite the need to gain support from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa chose to remain in the Philippines to focus on a legal petition before the Supreme Court aimed at preventing the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Hindi kami magkasama sa Hong Kong. Di ba naiwan ako dito? All I did was ako ang tinask nila mag-asikaso sa legal. Kinoordinate ko ‘yung akung lawyer at tyaka ‘yung lawyers ni PRRD to come up with a petition for certiorari and prohibition,” Dela Rosa stated in an interview.
“So inayos namin nang husto ‘yon. Na-file namin, hoping ako na makakuha kami ng positive results from the Supreme Court,” he added.
Dela Rosa revealed that he had received intelligence reports about a possible enforcement of arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him and Duterte the night before his scheduled flight. By that time, however, the former president and other candidates had already arrived in Hong Kong.
The senator criticized authorities for not presenting Duterte before a local court before allegedly facilitating his departure.
“Alam mo, mas excited pa, mas interesado pa ‘yung Philippine government na mahuli si President Duterte kaysa ICC at saka ‘yung sinsabi nilang INTERPOL,” he said.
“Isipin mo hindi man lang binigyan ng respeto ‘yung ating mga courts ‘no. Supposed to be kung talagang hinuli nila, dapat i-present muna nila sa court bago nila dalhin don sa ibang lugar, ibang bansa,” he added.
“This government is so oppressive.”
Dela Rosa also expressed his frustration with the Marcos administration, saying he felt betrayed because of the president’s previous assurances that he would not cooperate with the ICC.
“Betrayal to the max! Very vivid pa sa aking memory when he told me, nu’ng nag-usap kami sa Malacañang na never siyang mag-cooperate sa ICC,” he said.
“Talagang sinabi niya sa akin, ‘Hinding-hindi ako mag-cooperate sa ICC… Huwag kang mag-alala hinding-hindi ako mag-cooperate sa ICC dahil after niyo, who’s next? Baka kami na naman.’ ‘Yan ang sabi niya sa akin,” he continued.
For Dela Rosa, Marcos’ reasoning for authorizing Duterte’s arrest was weak, stressing that the president could have explicitly refused to acknowledge any ICC orders through Interpol.
“As a president, you can reject outright [and say] ‘Sorry we have commitment sa inyo, pero this time, hindi namin kayo pwedeng mapagbigyan dahil we do not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC sa aming bansa.’ Maintindihan naman ‘yan ng INTERPOL,” he said.
“Pero mas interesado pa sila na i-turnover kaagad…Diniretso kaagad nila biniyahe, masyadong atat na atat…Huwag niyong gawing excuse ‘yung INTERPOL na ‘yan. Napakababaw niyan,” he added.
On Tuesday, Duterte and Dela Rosa filed a petition before the Supreme Court, seeking to permanently prohibit the Philippine government from cooperating with the ICC.
Dela Rosa, who led Duterte’s war on drugs—resulting in the surrender of at least 1.6 million drug users—maintained that he had no regrets about his role, believing that the campaign was the most effective way to combat illegal drugs and reduce crime in the country.
