Bato reluctant to submit Senate inquiry ‘transcripts’ to ICC

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday expressed his reluctance to submit a transcript of the Senate panel’s inquiry on the Duterte administration's war on drugs campaign to the International Criminal Court (ICC), stressing the issue's jurisdiction over the Philippines. 

“Depende ‘yan sa liderato ng Senado kung gusto niyang i-submit doon but then kung mag submit siya (It depends on the Senate leadership if it will submit it, but then if he submits), I will try to question him: ‘Why are you submitting to the ICC when in fact we do not recognize the jurisdiction of ICC? Why?,” Dela Rosa told Senate reporters in an interview, shortly after presiding a hearing. 

Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) when former President Rodrigo Duterte formally launched his war on drugs campaign in 2016. 

Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs initiative caught the attention of the ICC over alleged human rights violations and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) logged during its massive implementation. 

“If you submit to them, that is tantamount to recognizing their jurisdiction over us,” Dela Rosa pointed out. 

Duterte formally withdrew the Philippines’ membership from the ICC on 17 March 2019—exactly a year after it revoked the Rome Statute that created the international tribunal. 

The previous government requested the Prosecutor defer to the Philippine government's investigations and proceedings in a 10 November 2021 letter signed by Ambassador to The Netherlands Eduardo Malaya.

Over the weekend, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said the chamber will not hesitate to provide an official transcript of the recently conducted Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigation should there be a “valid reason.”

“Kung may mag-request na valid ang rason para i-request, hindi mag-aatubili ang Senado na mag-certify ng kopya ng transcript ng hearing na isinagawa kaugnay sa EJKs. Pero siyempre, hindi naman puwede kung sino-sino lang, basta-basta nang walang dahilan at rason (If there’s a request and if the request has valid reason, the Senate will not hesitate to certify a copy of a transcript of the hearing related to EJKs. But of course, these can’t be requested by anyone without valid reason),” Escudero told reporters. 

Dela Rosa, however, said complying with the ICC’s request is equivalent to acknowledging their authority over the Philippines. 

“Giving in to their request is tantamount to recognizing their jurisdiction over us, and our government is very consistent in declaring that the ICC has no jurisdiction over us,” he lamented. 

Dela Rosa cited that the Philippine government has maintained the country’s existing judicial system, which is still effective. 

“So, although we are a co-equal branch of government with the executive—if that is the stand of the executive branch of government that we do not recognize—I hope the legislative branch will also follow the same line,” Dela Rosa pointed out. 

“That's my point only. It's not because I'm one of the accused in the ICC, that's my stand. But I'm just looking from that point of view that our line, our stand should be one as far as foreign policy is concerned,” he added. 

Allowing the ICC to investigate the country's war on drugs should be decided by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., according to Dela Rosa. 

“We should take the cue from the President. Since it came from the President, being the chief architect of the foreign policy, we should follow his line,” he noted.

Marcos previously said his administration does not recognize ICC jurisdiction, stressing  “that any unauthorized investigation by foreign entities in the Philippines is an encroachment of the country’s sovereignty.”

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa urged Escudero to strictly question the purpose of asking for the Senate inquiry transcripts. 

“He should ask, for what purpose is that certified true copy for? Who asked for it, and for what? Not because we are mechanical and we can certify a true copy—we would do it. We should ask where it will be taken to,” he said. 

“If it is for ICC, he should tell us that giving this copy to ICC is tantamount to re-confessing their jurisdiction over us,” he added. 

Dela Rosa stressed the need for the Philippines to stand firm in its withdrawal from the Hague Court. 

“Wala akong worry. Ang akin lang, dapat synchronize tayo lahat (I don’t worry. I just want us all to be synchronized),” he said.

“Pag sinabing ng Malacanang hindi natin na-reconfess yung jurisdiction ng ICC. Then, hindi natin dapat na-reconfess as a country, as a nation. So magkaisa tayo lahat. Hindi yung iba yung sinasabing ng Malacanang, iba yung sinasabing ng Senado,” he added.