'Don't me': Bato Dela Rosa says drug war victims could have sought justice in PH
Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa asserted that the alleged victims of former president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs could have sought justice in the Philippines instead of elevating their complaint to a foreign court.
Duterte is currently in The Hague in the Netherlands to face the International Criminal Court after he was arrested in Manila for his alleged crimes against humanity through his bloody war on drugs.
Dela Rosa, who served as chief of the Philippine National Police for almost two years under Duterte, may be served an arrest warrant next by the international tribunal, according to ICC assistant to counsel Atty. Kristina Conti.
"Anong [walang hustisya]? Kung meron silang kaso sa amin, bakit 'di sila makapag file[?] Sarado ba mga korte sa Pilipinas? Di ba nag-fa-function?" he said in an interview with Karmino Constantino on Dateline Philippines.
"Kung gusto nila ng hustisya bakit gusto pa nila ng foreign justice na meron naman tayong domestic justice na pwede nila makamit dito sa ating bansa."
Constantino then raised how a certain Jane Lee, wife of one of the thousands killed in Duterte's controversial drug war, was unable to get a death certificate and police report for her husband.
"Sagot ko diyan, tell it to the marines," Dela Rosa said, sounding irked. "All you said are all propaganda. Bakit sinong hindi magbigay ng kopya sa kanila ng death certificate? Sige, sabihin mo sa akin? Kasuhan natin."
"Don't me. Don't me, Karmina," he added.
The senator dismissed the complaints as propaganda and said that victims who filed cases against them were "backed" by human rights lawyers who were against Duterte and drug lords.
"That's plain bulls**t! That's plain propaganda."
When Constantino reminded him to watch his language, Dela Rosa said, "No, I don't care," and dared the journalist to end the interview.
Later in the video, he raised his voice again as he was asked to explain the thousands of deaths in the Duterte administration's anti-narcotics campaign.
"You file a case against me if you want to! [Kasi] 'yung sinasabi ninyo, yung buong 6,000 cases, gusto niyong i-classify 'yan as extrajudicial killing. EJK agad gusto ninyo."
Seeking Senate help and running for 2025 elections
Dela Rosa said that should the ICC issue an arrest warrant for him, he would go to the Senate for protection.
"Hanggang saan kaya protektahan ako ng Senado, dun lang ako. 'Pag sabihin nila 'di na kaya, you have to surrender yourself, I will turn in myself peacefully."
Asked about the reason behind his plans, Dela Rosa sounded agitated. "Ikaw, Karmina? Gusto mo harapin ganyang kaso na mga foreigner na walang alam sa pangyayari sa Pilipinas, yan maglilitis sayo? Yan magta-try sa 'yo?"
As for the coming elections, he called Duterte's arrest and recent events a "demolition job" against him.
"That warrant does not disqualify me. Regardless kung lalabas 'yang warrant na 'yan, it cannot stop me from running. Taumbayan ang bahala mag-decision," he said.
In an interview with reporters on March 12, Dela Rosa said he felt "betrayed" by President Bongbong Marcos, who, he said, promised not to hand over Duterte to the ICC.
"Feeling betrayed. Betrayal to the max," the senator said about Marcos. "Very vivid pa sa ang aking memory when he told me. Nag-usap kami sa Malacañang na never siyang mag-cooperate sa ICC. Talagang sinabi niya sa akin hinding-hindi ako mag-cooperate sa ICC. Dahil after ninyo, baka kami naman," he recalled.
Conti told DZBB in an interview that there are three names that the ICC was looking into for their alleged role in Duterte's war on drugs.
"Noon pa man sinisilip nila na responsible: Duterte, Dela Rosa at Oscar Albayalde," she said.
Upon assuming office in 2016, the Duterte administration launched Oplan Tokhang, which saw the execution of thousands of suspected drug peddlers, users, and small-time criminals.
Based on the government's "Real Numbers" data, a total of 6,229 individuals were killed during anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016, to Jan. 31, 2022. Rights groups, however, estimated that the number of deaths from the bloody anti-narcotics campaign reached as high as 27,000.
Duterte could be the first Asian former head of state to be indicted by the ICC.
He is expected to make his initial court appearance in the next few days, where the three judges in the pre-trial chamber will confirm his identity and ensure he understands the charges against him.
Following this appearance, a confirmation of charges hearing will follow, during which the judges will decide whether the prosecution has presented enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
If the charges are confirmed, it could be months before the case eventually goes on trial and years before a final judgment is rendered.
