He needs to change his strategy should the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue a warrant for his arrest, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa stressed, as he believes that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not stood firm on his commitments.

The reelectionist senator was responding to criticism he keeps changing his mind about his options in the event he is served with an arrest warrant by Philippine authorities.

“Our President keeps changing his mind, so how can I not change mine? As President BBM said, ‘The ICC won’t even touch your hair,’ so we believed him. We believed it. Now, he has changed his mind,” Dela Rosa said in a radio interview.

Previously, Dela rosa said he would accompany Duterte to the ICC should they both be arrested. At other times, he said they would have to catch him first. Last week, he asked Senate President Francis Escudero to let stay in the Senate premises where he would have immunity from arrest.

“Me? What we are doing is purely a reaction. If they change, we’ll change too. It’s only natural that we change; we’d be at a disadvantage if we don’t, right? They keep changing, so we’ll adjust to them. We’re just reacting to them, they’re the ones giving us the stimulus for our reactions,” the Mindanaoan lawmaker said.

As a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, Dela Rosa said having multiple options for dealing with the anticipated arrest warrant is part of his survival strategy.

“We can’t afford to be fixed. Otherwise, we’d be sitting ducks if we have a fixed position… I hope you understand. I have to survive. I have to survive all these trials that are being thrown at us,” he said.

“If you’re facing a government as cunning as this, you need to know how to adjust,” he added.

Dela Rosa has questioned the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte and filed a petition challenging the legality of the Philippine government’s surrender of the former president to the ICC.

The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief has maintained that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippines, as the country had withdrawn from the Rome Statute.

As PNP chief, Dela Rosa led the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drug campaign during which at least 1.6-million drug dependents surrendered to the government and officially over 6,000 were killed.

The senator has consistently argued that the war on drugs was necessary to eliminate the root cause of criminality in the country.

Chiz offers Senate security

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero assured that the Senate’s Office of the Sergeant at Arms (OSAA) is ready to assist Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa if he feels his security is at risk.

Escudero explained that providing security to senators is part of OSAA’s mandate and that security personnel are assigned based on the threat level assessed by the PNP.

He clarified that the two security personnel in Davao mentioned by Dela Rosa were not formally assigned to him but were for accommodation purposes. Dela Rosa’s actual security detail in Manila is separate.

Escudero also noted that senators can request additional security, and the OSAA currently has around 80 personnel, with the flexibility to deputize more if needed.