Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has not appeared in the Senate since November 11, a stretch of absences that has drawn renewed attention amid claims tied to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Asked about the possibility of an ICC warrant, Vice President Sara Duterte dismissed the idea that detention would amount to the gravest outcome for the senator. Speaking to reporters in The Hague on Tuesday, January 27, Duterte responded to comments by Panfilo Lacson, who had said a worst-case scenario would see dela Rosa taken into custody there while still in office.
“Sa tingin ko lang ha, sa lahat ng tao, sa buhay ng isang tao, the worst thing that could happen is magkasakit at mamatay. Kapag wala kang sakit at hindi ka namatay at buhay na buhay ka pa, kahit nasa loob ka man ng kulungan o nasa labas ka ng kulungan, okay na ‘yun,” the Vice President said.
She added, “Kaya ‘di ba, ‘yung kay sitwasyon ni Senator Bato, wala ‘yan. Hindi naman siya nagkasakit eh.”
Dela Rosa, a former police chief, has been linked to allegations arising from the anti-drug campaign during the previous administration. The discussion intensified after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla publicly alleged that the International Criminal Court had issued a warrant connected to that period, when dela Rosa headed the Philippine National Police.
No official confirmation of an arrest order has been released by the court, and the senator’s office has not provided an explanation for his continued absence from plenary sessions.
