Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said that the recent Senate hearing into the circumstances surrounding the administration’s arrest and surrender to the International Criminal Court (ICC) of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte had uncovered various violations and irregularities.
“Pero gano’n pa man, ako’y nagpapasalamat pa rin sa hearing na ginawa ni Senator Imee dahil at least, nabuksan ‘yung mga issues na gusto nating masagot. Maraming mga nakita pa din doon na viniolate nila na mga provisions ng batas. At least, nabigyan ng linaw ‘yung mga iniisip natin,” Dela Rosa said.
While the former police chief conceded that discussions over the legality of Duterte’s arrest is now academic as he is already at The Hague, he nevertheless objected to what he said were questionable decisions by the administration.
Bato again assailed the meek surrender of the country’s sovereignty, as he asked whether the INTERPOL could simply dictate how the country runs its affairs.
“Ang question na lang diyan ‘yung cooperation natin kung bakit tayo nag-cooperate based doon sa INTERPOL diffusion notice nila. So ano ba, kaya pala tayong diktahan ng INTERPOL?” he said.
“Are we not a sovereign state na pwedeng magsabi na, maging consistent man lang sana ang ating pangulo na pwede naman niyang sabihin sa INTERPOL na, ‘Sorry, we cannot enforce that ICC warrant because matagal na naming sinasabi na walang jurisdiction sa amin ‘yung ICC na ‘yan,’” the senator added.
Dela Rosa also said that the INTERPOL was merely used as a pretext, as he dismissed claims that Duterte’s arrest was only acted upon on the same day the government received the INTERPOL diffusion notice.
“Napaka-obvious. Ginawang lame excuse ang INTERPOL para talaga mabiyahe si Pangulong Duterte doon, ‘di ba? Sabi pa nga nila 3 o’clock daw nila ng madaling araw natanggap ‘yung warrant of arrest pero naka-deploy na sila the day before,” the senator lamented.
