Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Tuesday said he would exhaust all legal remedies to prevent any move to bring him to The Hague, Netherlands in connection with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
“We will exhaust all available legal means. Kailangan gawin natin lahat para hindi na tayo madala doon sa The Hague (We need to do everything so I won’t be brought to The Hague),” dela Rosa said in a chance interview at the Senate, where he spent the night at the office of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Dela Rosa has been identified by the ICC as an alleged co-perpetrator in the crimes against humanity case linked to Duterte’s anti-drug operations.
The senator said he would rather face any legal proceedings before Philippine courts and questioned the idea of being tried abroad.
“Sino bang Pilipino na gustong lilitisin sa ibang bansa, huh? Itanong natin kahit sino. Sino ang gustong ganoon ang mangyari? (What Filipino would want to be tried in another country? Ask anyone. Who would want that to happen?)” he added.
Dela Rosa also confirmed that he had filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a temporary restraining order against the implementation of the ICC warrant.
He argued that the warrant should not be enforced without authorization from Philippine courts.
“Well, ang proseso naman ay hindi hanggang sa lower court lang. Pwede tayo umakyat sa taas. So, inunahan na naming sa Supreme Court ngayon. Hintayin natin ang decision ng Supreme Court, (Well, the process does not stop at the lower court. We can still elevate it. That is why we already went to the Supreme Court. We will wait for the Supreme Court’s decision)” the senator said.
Dela Rosa said he would continue attending Senate plenary sessions while awaiting the High Court’s ruling on his petition.