Bato seeks SC's fair ruling on petitions over Duterte's ICC arrest

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is still hoping that the Supreme Court will make a fair ruling on the petition questioning the legality of the International Criminal Court's arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

“Again, we are praying that the Supreme Court will be guided accordingly, and we hope that their decision will be based on the merits of the case, and that they will not be swayed by politics because we know that we are a co-equal branch of government,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino on Sunday.

Dela Rosa also hopes that the High Court will decide based purely on the facts and legal merits of the case, without being influenced by politics or external pressures.

“I hope their decision will be firm, without any political considerations or pressure from other co-equal branches of government, not even from the Senate, where one of its members is a petitioner. Most importantly, I hope it won't be influenced by Malacañang, considering how oppressive their actions have been,” he said.

Following the arrest of Duterte on 11 March, Dela Rosa, through their legal counsel Atty. Israelito Torreon, filed their joint petition for certiorari against Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Justice Secretary Boying Remulla, and other officials regarding actions taken against them by the Marcos administration.

One of the requests in the petition was for the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order to prevent Duterte's arrest, which the Supreme Court later denied.

On 14 March, Torreon, representing Duterte and Dela Rosa, filed a motion for reconsideration regarding the denial of the Temporary Restraining Order. The motion urges the Supreme Court to exhaust all efforts to bring Duterte back to the Philippines.

Dela Rosa, who served as the chief of the Philippine National Police during the previous administration, was one of Duterte's co-accused in the crimes against humanity case related to the implementation of the war on drugs campaign.

He clarified that he is prepared to face arrest if the courts and the Senate decide to surrender him.

“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 stressed.

Dela Rosa urged sobriety among their supporters, lamenting that calls to overthrow the government would ultimately harm the country.

“Umaabot na sa punto na hinahamon na tayo na mag-People Power o kung anong gusto nila. But then again, I appeal to the sobriety. Huwag po tayong magpadalos-dalos dahil ang Pilipinas din ang magsa-suffer kung magkakagulo po tayo sa mga gano’ng hakbangin. We have to appeal for their sobriety. Sana po relax lang tayo,” he said.