SEN. Ronald dela Rosa yesterday denied that he has gone into hiding following the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest.
In a phone interview with the Senate media, Dela Rosa said there is no truth to speculations that he has fled the country.
He said campaigned in Surigao and Agusan provinces yesterday, while he was busy preparing for the petition that he filed before the Supreme Court last Tuesday.
“Naaawa ako sa dating pangulo. Alam mo mas excited pa o mas interesado pa ang Philippine government na mahuli si President Duterte kaysa ICC at saka sa sinasabi nilang Interpol…This government is so oppressive (I pity the former president. It seems that the Philippine government is more excited than the ICC and Interpol in arresting him… This government is so oppressive),” he said in a phone interview.
He said he is “ready to join” Duterte in The Hague if legal remedies to stop the former president’s trial abroad cannot be stopped.
“If all legal remedies are exhausted and still justice is to no avail, then I don’t want my family to suffer from cops looking for a heartbeat. I am ready to join the old man hoping that they would allow me to take care of him,” he said in a Facebook post.
He said he has already talked to his family on the possibility of his arrest and they agreed with his decision.
Dela Rosa said he will talk with Senate President Francis Escudero to ask if he can temporarily seek refuge in the Senate while Congress is still on recess if and when the arrest warrant will be issued so he can still have the time to tend to legal matters pertaining to Duterte’s cases.
He said they knew that an arrest warrant was already out for Duterte through the help of his sources in the government.
Dela Rosa said that the government’s alibi that it only assisted the Interpol in serving the arrest warrant on Duterte is a “very flimsy alibi.”
“That only goes to show na talagang sila ang interesado na i-commit si President Duterte. President ka ng Pilipinas, you can reject outright (This only goes to show that they are really interested to committing President Duterte. He [Marcos] is the President of the Philippines, he can outright reject it),” he said.
He recalled that Marcos even assured to him that the administration will not cooperate with the ICC, but it turned out to be otherwise when Duterte was arrested.
“Sabi niya sa akin noon, huwag ka mag-alala, hindi ako magko-cooperate sa ICC. Dahil after ninyo, who’s next? Baka kami naman. Yan ang sabi niya sa akin (He told me not worry because the administration will not cooperate with the ICC because after you, who’s next? Maybe it will be us. That’s what he told me),” he added.
Dela Rosa is seeking reelection in the midterm elections in May.
