Bato on Trillanes’ call for ICC probe of alleged Davao EJKs: ‘Ingay lang ‘yan’

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa laughed off the call of the Magdalo group, led by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, on the Marcos administration to allow the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged crimes against humanity by the previous Duterte administration, saying: "It's just noise."

"Andyan na naman siya? Akala ko nanahimik na 'yang tao na iyan. Andyan na naman siya nag-iingay na naman. Matagal na niyang iniingay yan, 2016 pa 'yan, hanggang ngayon, nag-iingay pa rin siya (He's back? I thought this man had gone silent. Here he comes making noise again. He has been making noise about it since 2016, and until now, he's still yapping)," Dela Rosa told reporters in a virtual media interview on Monday.

In a statement, Trillanes urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to allow ICC investigators to enter the country to probe the alleged extrajudicial killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte's term as mayor of Davao City.

"This is in light of Mr. Duterte's recent public admission that he used his Confidential/Intelligence funds to conduct extra-judicial killings," the former lawmaker said.

"Being the original filers of the ICC case in 2017, we have witnessed and documented the barbaric actions of the past administration, as well as the trauma and hardships that the thousands of victims and their families have suffered. Truly, Justice is long overdue," Trillanes added.

Dela Rosa a staunch ally to Duterte who served as the Philippine National Police chief at the height of the drug war under the Duterte administration, defended Duterte's remarks made in a circulating clip cut from an SMNI News Channel interview where Duterte where the former president said, alluding to leftist lawmakers: "Yung intelligence fund, binili pinapatay ko lahat kaya ganun ang Davao. 'Iyon ang mga kasama ninyo pinatigok ko talaga. Iyon ang totoo" (I used the intelligence funds to kill them all that's why Davao became peaceful. I killed all your comrades, that's the truth.)

The senator said: "Kilala niyo naman si Pangulong Duterte, mahilig sa figure of speech. Pumatay. Ano bang pinatay niya? Is it the person himself, the cause, or the instrumentalities? Ano ba ang tinutukoy niya sa pagsasabi pinatay?" (You all know President Duterte, he likes figure of speech. What has he killed?… What does he mean when he mentions killing?)