Bato eyed Senate Mansion for family

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who has not appeared at the Senate since November last year amid the threat of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, has sought the chamber’s permission for his family to use the Senate Mansion in Baguio City.

Senate President Tito Sotto confirmed this to reporters on Friday after a letter from Dela Rosa dated 12 March addressed to him was leaked to the media.

Sotto said the letter was a “privileged communication” and he did not know how the media obtained it.

He said Dela Rosa’s request was referred to the Senate secretariat, which subsequently denied it.

Senate Secretary-General Mark Llandro Mendoza said this was because the Senate Mansion was undergoing renovation. Also, he said, senators must be with their families when they stay at the mansion.

“The Senate Mansion is undergoing repair, and the policy is the family must be accompanied by the senator,” Mendoza told reporters.

In the letter, Dela Rosa sought Sotto’s permission to use the Senate Mansion from 26 to 29 March, assuring him that the property “will be used solely to accommodate” his family during the CSAFP Cup 2026 to be held at the Philippine Military Academy firing range in Fort Del Pilar, Baguio City.

De la Rosa had gone into hiding since Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced in November that an ICC warrant had been issued for him, although neither Malacañang nor the Department of the Interior and Local Government could confirm this.

Police chief role

Last month, ICC prosecutors named Dela Rosa and Senator Bong Go among the “co-perpetrators” of former President Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity tied to his bloody drug war.

Dela Rosa has been accused of playing a key role in the notorious anti-drug campaign as Duterte’s first chief of police who signed Command Memorandum Circular 16-2016.

The document outlined general guidelines and tasks of police offices, units, and stations in the nationwide conduct of the brutal anti-narcotics campaign dubbed “Project Double Barrel,” or more commonly as “Oplan Tokhang,” during Duterte’s watch.