Malacañang Palace on Wednesday said that as the Supreme Court has already denied Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa’s petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO), they now deem that the warrant of arrest released by the International Criminal Court is apparently valid and enforceable.
“Sa ngayon, nasasabi po natin na ang warrant of arrest ay valid laban dito kay Sen. Bato dela Rosa. At ang lahat ng maaaring interpretasyon at evaluation ng nasabing resolution ng Supreme Court ay ibabato po natin kay Secretary Fredderick Vida,” said Palace press officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro, in a Palace interview.
She said that as the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) treats Sen. Dela Rosa as a fugitive, they echo its pronouncement.
“Iyan din po ang pananaw ng OSG na siya po ay kinukonsidera na fugitive. Nakita po natin kung ano ang statement ng OSG na siyang kumakatawan sa ating gobyerno. Sabi po nila ay hindi po kailangan dumaan sa local court. So, since wala pong TRO, tayo po ay nagsasabi na ang warrant of arrest ay valid,” Castro further stressed.
On Robin aiding Bato to escape
Also, on Wednesday, the PCO released CCTV footage from the Senate on 14 May, showing that Senator Robinhood Padilla helped Senator Bato to escape from the Senate premises.
She maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. always supports the call to hold erring government officials accountable.
“Alam po natin na ang mga tao na dapat na may pananagutan, yan di po ang ayon sa Pangulo. Ang managot ay dapat managot. Kung wala namang kasalanan, kailangan ma-clear ang kanilang mga pangalan. Kung ikukonsidera ito na pagtakas at pag-alis, hindi po natin ito di-decision o bibigyan ng judgment. Pero sa paningin po ng Pangulo, ay hindi po ito nararapat,” she explained.
Castro also expressed the Palace will also ask the Senate why they allowed Senator Dela Rosa to be released and escape under their custody, not fulfilling the deal that they have made with the National Bureau of Investigation to keep Dela Rosa while the TRO was not yet released.
Concerning the request of Senator Dela Rosa for the President to protect him as a citizen and not send him to The Hague, Castro said that what the President could do is to abide by the rule of law.
