SEN. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa yesterday said he is mulling to go into hiding to evade an arrest order that the International Criminal Court (ICC) might issue against him in relation to the crimes against humanity case of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In a phone interview with the Senate media, Dela Rosa said he has received unconfirmed information that the ICC is allegedly set to issue a warrant for his arrest in two weeks’ time.
Dela Rosa is a co-respondent, along with former PNP chief Oscar Albayalde, in Duterte’s crimes against humanity. The two were the former president’s PNP chiefs who played key roles in the previous administration’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs.
Dela Rosa said going into hiding and “not surrendering” to proper authorities is one of the options he is considering while he maps out his legal strategy to fight off the warrant.
“Eh kung wala kang makita na hustisya dito sa ating bansa, bakit ka susuko, ‘di ba? (If I don’t see justice here in our country, why would I surrender)?” he said.
He also said: “Tignan natin kung may glimmer of hope, na yun court ay talagang paninindigan niya yung kanyang pagiging independent (Let’s see if there is a glimmer of hope that the (Supreme Court) will stand firm on its independence… I will evaluate). As I’ve said, I will cross the bridge when I get there.”
Dela Rosa has been flip-flopping on his position on his possible arrest..
In an interview shortly after the arrest of Duterte last week, the senator said he will readily surrender to the ICC if and when it issues an arrest warrant against him.
He said he is willing to be jailed in the Netherlands so he can take care of Duterte who is now detained in The Hague.
But in interviews prior to that, Dela Rosa said he does not want to be jailed the Netherlands since his relatives, especially his grandchildren, cannot visit him.
His statement yesterday was a turn-around to these previous pronouncements.
Obviously changing his mind about being detained by the ICC, Dela Rosa said: “Mahirap doon eh, ultimo yung mga anak nga hindi makalapit, hindi makabisita, how much more kung pareho kaming detainee? Paano ako makapag-demand ng time na para makasama doon o makapag-usap eh pareho kaming detainee. Mukhang mahirap dahil sa experience nila doon (I think it will be hard there because even his [Duterte’s] daughter cannot just visit him. How much more if I am also detained there? How can I demand to be given time to talk to him if we are both detainees? It would be hard there based on their [Duterte allies in The Hague] experience there).”
Dela Rosa thanked Senate President Francis Escudero for allowing to take sanctuary in the Senate while he exhausts all legal remedies once the ICC arrest warrant is issued.
“Magandang option yan dahil hindi ka na puwedeng hulihin kapag nandiyan ka na sa loob kasi dapat respetuhin nila ang Senate as an institution (That will be a good option for me because I cannot be arrested if I am inside the Senate premises which is only proper as a respect to the Senate as an institution),” he said.
He said staying inside the Senate will buy him more time to seek other courses of action, including wait for the Supreme Court to decide on his and Duterte’s petition questioning Duterte’s arrest and surrender to the ICC and asking the court to refrain the government from further cooperating with the international court.
Dela Rosa said that if his legal options run out and his arrest is inevitable, he will not put up a fight against arresting officers, saying that as a former PNP chief, he is aware of the might and power of the police.
“I know what’s the might and power of the PNP because I’ve been the chief of the PNP. Alam ko (I know) how to use it, so bakit ka manlalaban (why will I put up a fight with them)? I know it’s useless,” he said.
SENATE HEARING
Dela Rosa said he is not sure if he will attend today’s motu proprio hearing of the Committee on Foreign Relations whose top agenda is to determine if due process was observed in the arrest of Duterte last March 11.
The hearing will be led by Sen. Imee Marcos, panel chairperson.
While saying that he hopes that the hearing will address the divisiveness among Filipinos, he said the Duterte camp has been “deeply wounded” that “I can’t see immediate healing with what happened to president Duterte.”
“I don’t know if our wounds can be healed. Maybe it can be healed only if our beloved president Duterte is sent back to the Philippines,” he said.
Dela Rosa said he holds no grudges against CIDG chief Major Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who led the police team in serving the arrest warrant on Duterte, as he only did his job even if the senator reiterated that what the government did was illegal.
NOT A DIVERSION
Meanwhile, Malacañang yesterday dismissed the claims of Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte that their family is being singled out by the Marcos administration and that the arrest of his father is just a diversion from the issues hounding the government.
Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the former president was the only one arrested and surrendered to the ICC because he was the only one named in the arrest warrant, even if it said that the former president was just a “co-perpetrator.”
Castro said the other “co-perpetrators” have yet to be named and a warrant has yet to be issued against them.
“Ang warrant of arrest po ay para lamang po kay dating pangulong Duterte wala pa po ang ibang mga co-perpetrators na nakasaad doon. So, hindi po tayo makakaiwas na si dating pangulong Duterte lamang po ang i-surrender sa ICC (The warrant of arrest is only for former President Duterte, the other co-perpetrators are not yet included. So, we cannot avoid the fact that only former President Duterte will be surrendered to the ICC),” she said.
“Walang sini-single out dito. Ang nangyayari dito, iyong mga kasong tungkol sa crimes against humanity kagagawan din po ng kanyang ama na ibinibintang sa kanila (No one is being singled out. What happened here is that the crimes against humanity charges were due to the actions and policies of his father),” she said.
Mayor Duterte, during a Facebook Live session, said his family is facing a difficult situation and it felt that they were being “singled out” by the Marcos administration.
He also said the administration is just trying to distract the public and divert attention from the questionable issues about the funding of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and some blank provisions in the 2025 budget.
Castro, however, said the recent developments are not diversionary tactics and the PhilHealth and 2025 budget issues can easily be explained.
She said the government is ready to answer and explain the PhilHealth issues but prefer to focus on the current issue at hand – Duterte’s arrest and transfer to ICC- while the signed 2025 budget issue was based on the enrolled copy that was sent to Malacañang.
“Walang diversionary tactic dito, diversionary issues na pag-uusapan (there is no diversionary tactic, no diversion of issues to be discussed),” she said.
POLITICAL SURVIVAL
Partido Lakas ng Masa president and senatorial bet Leody de Guzman said the Marcos and Duterte families no longer have any choice other than to go all-in in their struggle to avoid being rendered irrelevant with the breakup of their political alliance after the 2022 presidential elections.
Replying to a question from journalists at yesterdays’ media forum at the Kamuning Bakery Café in Quezon City, the labor leader said both camps have realized that they are now locked in a battle for survival where the loser will be erased for good.
De Guzman said the flood of fake news and online showdown among trolls from both camps are all related not to the 2025 mid-term polls but to the 2028 presidential elections.
“What you are witnessing is a gutter fight between two dominant political dynasties. The Marcoses intend to stay on while the Dutertes are pulling all stops to be able to return to power so they can exact payback on the Marcos family,” he pointed out.
He said the Marcos family and their allies are fully aware that if Vice President Sara Duterte runs and wins the 2028 presidential derby, she will do her best to obliterate the political clout of the Marcoses in three generations.
“They know how the Dutertes work and that is why the Marcos family is being very careful. To ensure their survival, they cannot stop now until they have destroyed the Duterte dynasty,” De Guzman said.
He pointed out that the course of action for both families is obvious.
“The Marcos camp has to proceed with the impeachment trial and get VP Duterte convicted and removed. They also have to make sure (former President Rodrigo) Duterte is convicted by the ICC,” he said.
As for the Duterte family, De Guzman said the best way for them to inflict damage is to expose the electronic cheating in the 2022 presidential elections and make it stick.
His fellow PLM candidate, Luke Espiritu pointed out that the Filipino electorate must realize that whether the Marcoses survive or the Duterte’s regain their political foothold is of little benefit to them.
“There is little to differentiate between the two. They are both products of the dynastic system. There are more things in common between them than there are differences,” he said.
Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Jose Cabantan denied reports that the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral is holding special Masses daily for the good health and release of Duterte. – With Jocelyn Montemayor, Peter Tabingo and Gerard Naval
In a statement, Cabantan said:
“A recent report from a media outlet has claimed that the Cathedral is holding a special daily Mass for former president Rodrigo Duterte’s health and release back to the Philippines. We wish to categorically clarify that this is incorrect.”
“The Holy Mass is a sacred act of worship, where the faithful gather to lift up their personal and communal intentions to God. It is never exclusive to any one person, group, or political cause,” said the archbishop.
“While the Church welcomes all to bring their prayers before God, it remains committed to its mission of universality and neutrality, ensuring that places of worship remain spaces of faith, reflection, and unity,” Cabantan added.
