Sen. Bato dela Rosa Returns to Senate for First Time Since Duterte’s Arrest
BATO DELA ROSA – The Senator expressed his desire to visit former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in The Hague, Netherlands.
Sen. Dela Rosa is one of those who are vocal about his disappointment on the arrest of former Pres. Duterte. He even tagged it as allegedly a “betrayal to the max” by Pres. Bongbong Marcos.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa previously claimed he is willing to join Duterte in The Hague in case all the legal remedies fail. He has tagged himself as the second in the list of people that the International Criminal Court wants to investigate over Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
Dela Rosa was the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during the implementation of the anti-drug campaign of the previous administration. He is one of the closest allies of the former President.
However, amid the detention of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, Sen. Dela Rosa has changed stance on the possible ICC arrest warrant against him. According to the Senator, he will not allow himself to be arrested.
Sen. Bato dela Rosa also confirmed that hiding is one of the options he may consider if the ICC issues an arrest warrant against him. According to the Senator, he will only submit himself if it is a Philippine court that released a warrant.
Recently, Sen. Imee Marcos who leads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the arrest of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte invited Dela Rosa in the second day of the probe. It is the first time that the former PNP Chief has returned to the Senate since the arrest of the former President.
Based on a post of Inquirer, Sen. Bato dela Rosa told the reporters that he wants to visit former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte in The Hague. According to him, he will apply for a Visa and if there is a time, he would like to make the visit before the election.
“Sige lang kung idetain nila ako don. Magpunta ako don sa The Hague [at] mag-wig ako para hindi nila ako makilala doon,” the Senator said.
The Cabinet officials skipped the second day of the Senate investigation on Duterte’s arrest. Sen. Imee Marcos slammed the cabinet officials for using the executive privilege to skip the probe.