Senator Ronald ‘’Bato’’ dela Rosa, the first Philippine National Police (PNP) chief in the Duterte administration, has insisted that there were no crimes against humanity in the Philippines as its justice system is working.
Dela Rosa stressed this as his Senate finance sub-committee ‘’C’’ approved the proposed 2022 P867.25 million budget for the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in yesterday’s public hearing.
The approved CHR budget would be submitted to the Senate mother Finance committee chaired by Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara who in turn would submit the CHR budget for floor debate.
A prosecutor of the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court (ICC) wants President Duterte and dela Ros prosecuted arising from the deadly drug war in the Philippines.
“Ipikit ko man ‘yung mata ko, i-open ko ‘yung mata ko, eh wala akong makitang crimes against humanity (I will open my eyes, I will close my eyes, I do not see crimes against humanity). ...But anyway, sabihin mo mang biased ako...basta kahit sino sigurong tanungin mong Pilipino, kung meron bang crimes against humanity na nangyayari dito sa ating bansa ngayon, wala man akong nakikita (You may say I am biased..you may ask Filipinos if there are crimes against humanity taking place in our country today, I do not see them). Pero sige lang (That is ok). Nandyan naman si Lord (Our Lord is present). Hindi man tayo pababayaan ni Lord (Our Lord has not forsaken me) Alam man niya ‘yung nagyayari (He knows what is happening),” Dela Rosa told CHR Chariman Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon during the committee hearing.
Dela Rosa said he would not want a foreign court to try him in connection with the performance of his duty when he was still in the police force.
“Alam mo, being a Filipino, gusto ko sana (You know, being a Filipino, I want to)...I would rather be tried, convicted, and even hanged before a Filipino court, rather than being tried, convicted and hanged before a foreign court. So ‘yun lang ang gusto kong iparating sa’yo (that is what I want to tell you) because being a Filipino, it’s also my right,” the senator from Mindanao said.
Dela Rosa said that while there are isolated cases of police who abuse their position, they are not tolerated by the PNP and the government.
“Ayaw na ayaw ko na nata-try ng foreign court ( I really do not like being tried in a foreign court) ...na walang alam sa pangyayari sa Pilipinas kundi nagde-depende lang doon sa mga nag-a-allege (it does not know what is happening in the Philippines but is depending on allegations), na nagcha-charge sa gobyerno na alam naman natin na karamihan diyan ay politically motivated (charges against the government are politically motivated), except of course ‘don sa talagang legitimate cases...meron naman talagang nag-aabuso na mga pulis. Inaamin natin ‘yan (except of course the legitimate cases) At meron nga tayong nakukulong na mga pulis, meron nga tayong mga pulis na kinasuhan (we have policemen clapped in jail, we have policemen charged). But sana h’wag lang ‘yung maging one-sided ‘yung kanilang investigation (Its investigation must not be one-sided),” the senator said.
Dela Rosa emphasized that while the ICC is an international court, it is “totally foreign as far as the Filipinos are concerned.”
“Wala man kaya tayong miyembro dun dahil umalis man tayo at hindi na tayo miyembro ng ICC (We don’t have a member at ICC because we have left the ICC)... I would rather have a criminal justice system run like hell by Filipino judges rather than a criminal justice run like heaven by foreign judges. ‘Yun ang sa akin, ayokong magpasakop talaga sa mga foreigner na ‘yan ( don’t want foreigners to have jurisdiction over me),” he said.
Gascon, for his part, said that the ICC’s core fundamental principle is complementarity, which means that they may decide not to proceed with their investigation if they see that our justice system is working.
“Ang kailangan po nating gawin talaga, ipakita na ang legal (what we should show is that we have a legal) system natin operates in a way that is consistent with the national and the international standard,” the commissioner said.
Dela Rosa responded: “I don’t think kailangan pa nating ipakita dahil nakikita naman talaga na working ‘yung ating criminal justice system (I don’t think we have to show them becdause we have a criminal justice system)...It’s working. Really working. Ang mahirap lang diyan is ICC is masyadong naniniwala sa mga nag-rereport sa kanila which is biased (ICC believes biased reports reaching it). I am very sure, politically biased. If not, baka hindi lang ito politics, kundi ito’y handiwork na ng mga malalaking drug syndicates na tinamaan ng ating war on drugs (It might not be4 just politics but is the handiwork of drug syndicates being negatively affected by the administration’s anti-illegal drugs operations).”
Dela Rosa, during the approval of the CHR budget at the subcommittee level, stated that he has been consistent in supporting the CHR budget since he became a senator because he is a human rights advocate.
“I am also a human rights advocate. You (Gascon) are a human rights advocate, particularly to the victims. I am also a human rights advocate, particularly to the victims of the drug-crazed criminals. Pareho lang tayo ang habol human rights (we both protectors of human rights), there is no quarrel about that. So I am with you in seeking human rights,” Dela Rosa said.
As Vice-Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, Dela Rosa is tasked to defend the 2022 funds of the CHR during the Senate plenary budget deliberation in November.
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