Senate no safe haven for ‘Bato’ — Drilon

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa would not be able to evade a warrant of arrest should one be issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), former Justice Secretary and Senate President Franklin Drilon said Sunday.

Drilon emphasized that even the Senate of the Philippines could not shield Dela Rosa if the ICC ordered the arrest of the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief.

In a radio interview, the veteran lawmaker explained that the parliamentary immunity granted to incumbent members of Congress by the Constitution is limited to minor offenses and has exceptions.

“The prohibition in the Constitution does not apply if the warrant of arrest comes from the ICC (as what looms) in this particular case. The offense for which they are charged is not a minor offense,” he said.

“Based on my reading, this is not covered by the prohibition against arrest that members of Congress normally enjoy. Our executive branch can enforce the warrant from the ICC,” he added.

Dela Rosa had earlier appealed to Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero to protect him from a possible arrest warrant, following the ICC’s issuance of a warrant against former President Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity.

Duterte was arrested in Manila on 10 March upon his arrival from a weekend rally for senatorial candidates of the party PDP-Laban in Hong Kong.

He was flown straight to The Hague, the Netherlands, where the ICC is based, and was promptly taken into custody by the tribunal. On 14 March, he faced ICC pre-trial judges. The next hearing was set for 23 September.

The former president’s legal team has since vowed to challenge the arrest, arguing that the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC.

While former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea represented Duterte as counsel in the first hearing, the Duterte camp has secured the services of British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman and former Duterte spokesman Harry Roque.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly justified allowing the arrest of Duterte amid his earlier statements that the country is not cooperating with the ICC. Mr. Marcos said the country was obligated to honor the ICC warrant coursed through Interpol or the International Police.

Protests over Duterte’s arrest have erupted in the Netherlands, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, and various areas in the Philippines, including in Duterte’s bailiwick, Davao City, on Sunday (see related story).

Last week, ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti expressed confidence that the international tribunal would soon issue arrest warrants for Dela Rosa and Oscar Albayalde, both of whom served as PNP chiefs during the Duterte administration.

‘Most responsible’

Dela Rosa led the PNP from 2016 to 2018 and spearheaded the administration’s controversial anti-illegal drug campaign, Oplan Tokhang. Albayalde, who succeeded him, served as PNP chief from April 2018 until his early retirement in October 2019.

According to Conti, Dela Rosa is considered “one of the persons most responsible” for the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, which left thousands of Filipinos allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade dead.

Government data indicated that during police operations, fewer than 7,000 people were killed under Duterte’s war on drugs, most of them from poor families and communities.

However, both local and international human rights organizations dispute this figure, asserting that up to 30,000 more people may have been killed as a result of the drug war.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is likely to reject the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Veronica “Kitty” Duterte to bring back her father, Drilon said.

Drilon explained that the jurisdiction of the SC is only within the territory of the Philippines, adding that the subject of the petition should be within the country.

“The Supreme Court will not rule on that because it would only embarrass the Court. There is a legal basis to dismiss the petition for habeas corpus since the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction applies only within the boundaries of our country,” he said when asked about his opinion on the matter.

Dela Rosa said he is still hoping that the SC 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.