Bato mulls hiding, won’t surrender to ICC

MANILA, Philippines —  If confronted with “injustice,” Sen. Ronald dela Rosa said he might consider going into hiding from the International Criminal Court (ICC) instead of facing arrest as he had promised.

By “injustice,” he refers to the Supreme Court possibly rejecting his petitions questioning the case for crimes against humanity being readied against him.

He had earlier declared willingness to surrender so he could take care of former president Rodrigo Duterte, now detained in The Hague.

Dela Rosa changed his tune even after Senate President Francis Escudero said the Senate could serve as his temporary refuge while he prepares his legal defense against his looming arrest.

“I cannot stay in the Senate forever. We still have other courses of action,” Dela Rosa said in a phone interview with reporters.

Asked if “hiding” is an option, Dela Rosa said yes, adding that his next move would be based on the SC decision on his petition for certiorari and prohibition with prayer for temporary restraining order.

“If we cannot attain justice here, why should I surrender? So let us see if there is a glimmer of hope in the Supreme Court, if the Court asserts its independence. I will cross the bridge when I get there,” Dela Rosa said.

He also said he changed his mind about volunteering after hearing about the difficulties faced by Duterte’s daughter Vice President Sara Duterte in securing a visit.

“Even the daughter can’t just visit her father there. How much more me, if I become a detainee? It looks like a difficult experience to be detained at The Hague,” Dela Rosa said.

Pressed to disclose his whereabouts, the former police chief and enforcer of Duterte’s bloody drug war said he would rather not broadcast his moves as he juggled fighting a possible ICC arrest warrant and getting himself reelected to the Senate.

“Secret!” Dela Rosa said when asked of his whereabouts. “We are just here in the Philippines, doing my campaign rounds. I don’t want to telegraph my punches.”

Escudero earlier said it is part of “institutional courtesy” to allow senators to seek refuge at the Senate, where they could not be arrested.

But Dela Rosa cannot hide in the Senate forever, Escudero pointed out, citing the cases faced by Leila de Lima and Antonio Trillanes IV during the Duterte administration that either forced them to surrender or surface from the Senate.

De Lima spent one night at the Senate amid an arrest warrant against her for her now-dismissed drug trading charges, before surrendering the day after or on Feb. 24, 2017.

Trillanes meanwhile stayed in his Senate office for 25 days from Sept. 4 to 29, 2018 until the Makati court deferred the arrest warrant against him in connection with the revocation of his amnesty.

Two other former senators – Gringo Honasan and Panfilo Lacson – went into hiding and fled the country, respectively, amid the cases filed against them during the Arroyo administration.

Escudero said De Lima and Trillanes were allowed to stay in the Senate because the chamber was in session, a requirement for members taking refuge. This means Dela Rosa cannot hide in the Senate while it is on break.

Meanwhile, Dela Rosa expressed hope the Senate hearing scheduled today on Duterte’s arrest would “cure the divisiveness, even though I cannot see any immediate healing of the wounds inflicted on our side.”

Sen. Imee Marcos, as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, presides over today’s hearing to “clarify the roles of the ICC, the International Criminal Police Organization and the various government agencies in the arrest of former president Duterte” as well as to “confirm the measures taken to ensure that Duterte’s rights under domestic laws and relevant treaties were properly protected throughout the process.”

“There’s no use crying over spilled milk. President Duterte is already there at The Hague. The question now is how to bring him back here,” Dela Rosa said.