Here’s the message of Bato Dela Rosa to the president.
In an interview, Senator Bato Dela Rosa claimed that President Bongbong Marcos had failed to fulfill his promise to them.
Ex-president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested, and this has garnered attention locally and internationally. Many were dismayed and sparked rallies in various parts of the country, but the former leader is now in the facility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face the accusations against him.
After his arrest, one of those who objected to what happened was Senator Bato Dela Rosa. In a previous article, the senator was feeling betrayed by President Bongbong Marcos. He quipped, “Betrayal to the max.”
In a message to the president, he expressed that he was expecting more from him as the chief executive. He expected him to honor the words he had told them before: ‘Not even a hair on your head, Bato, will be touched by the ICC.’
He was promised, and he was disappointed that it was not fulfilled.
“I am truly saddened. I am saddened not only for myself, not only for President Duterte, but I am also saddened for the entire Filipino people, for the entire Filipino nation, that we have a president who does not keep his word,” Dela Rosa said over a DZBB interview on Thursday.
In an interview with News 5, he also said, “I just would like to tell him that I’m so sad na meron tayong pangulo na walang isang salita. Iba ‘yung sinabi, iba ‘yung ginawa. So, malungkot po tayo.”
Meanwhile, Senator Dela Rosa turned to the Senate for protection from ICC arrest. To recall, he was Duterte’s Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the bloody drug war, and it is believed that he is next in line to be arrested by the international tribunal.
He is ready for the arrest but hopes that Senate President Francis Escudero will grant him refuge in case the ICC orders his arrest. He hopes that Escudero won’t surrender him, especially while in session, and that the executive branch will respect it as there’s a protocol for such cases.
Former senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima have sought refuge in the Senate to avoid arrest. Section 11 of Article VI from the 1987 Constitution states:
“A Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session. No Member shall be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the Congress or in any committee thereof.”
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