Bato admits fearing ICC arrest, detention

MANILA, Philippines —  Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa fears the day he might get an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in carrying out the war on drugs, which left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead.

He said his fear stemmed not from the inevitability of his detention, but from the fact that he might never see his three grandchildren once he is detained at the ICC detention chamber in The Hague. As Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Dela Rosa had implemented former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, however, said that with President Marcos saying the government will “not lift a finger” to assist the ICC in its probe, the court cannot enforce an arrest warrant in the Philippines.

Guevarra told “Storycon” on Cignal TV’s One News that the ICC relies on local enforcement to serve arrest warrants.

Dela Rosa or Duterte can be arrested only if they go to a country that belongs to the ICC. Guevarra said the ICC cannot bring its own team to the Philippines.

“I’m afraid of getting detained far away from my grandchildren, who I love very much,” Dela Rosa, who turned 62 last Sunday, said during a press briefing yesterday.

“I love my apo (grandchildren) very much, and I fear that they will grow up without their grandfather,” he added.

“I’m just afraid of not seeing my grandchildren if I am detained far away at The Hague. How can they visit me? They will grow up lolo (grandfather)-less, poor them,” the senator told ANC.

Dela Rosa then turned his ire on the most vocal supporter of the ICC’s drug war investigation – his nemesis, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who has claimed having information that an arrest warrant is underway.

“Trillanes is a great destabilizer who just wants to destabilize the relationship between the Marcoses and the Dutertes,” Dela Rosa said.

He also lauded President Marcos, who has stressed the government’s position against the ICC investigation as a breach of the country’s sovereignty.

The President has reiterated his order for the government not to cooperate with ICC probers visiting the country, after Dela Rosa dared Marcos to “man up” and stay true to