SENATOR Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has revealed plans to seek protection from Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, requesting the upper chamber to refuse his arrest should the International Police Organization (InterPol) serve an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Dela Rosa broke his silence on Wednesday, hours after former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte was arrested and detained at the ICC headquarters in The Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the bloody war on drugs waged by the previous administration.
Speaking in a phone patch interview, Dela Rosa stated that he would be reaching out to Escudero as soon as possible, citing the looming threat of arrest warrants for several other individuals involved in the drug war.
Dela Rosa, who served as the chief implementer of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, or Oplan Tokhang, is named in the crimes against humanity case filed with the ICC by families of drug war victims, spearheaded by former Senator Antonio Trillanes III.
“As long as the Senate President can protect me, that he won’t surrender me if there’s an arrest warrant [and] we’re in session, I hope the executive branch of government will respect that, because there are protocols for such situations,” Dela Rosa said.
Members of Congress enjoy certain privileges, including immunity from arrest, with specific provisions outlined in the Constitution. Section 11, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution states: “that a senator or a member of the House of Representatives shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session.”
“These privileges are thus secured not with the intention of protecting the members against prosecutors for their own benefit, but to support the rights of the people, by enabling their representatives to execute the function of their office without fear of prosecution, civil or criminal,” states the Constitutional provision, as cited on the Senate website.
