ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Bato says he feels 'betrayed', calls commitment to Interpol a 'flimsy alibi'

Bato says he feels 'betrayed', calls commitment to Interpol a 'flimsy alibi'

Published Mar 12, 2025 10:58 am

C683C55F-0D5A-4B43-8BF5-70D2DC8EF8F5.jpegSenator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa (Senate Social Media Unit)

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa said on Wednesday, March 12 that he feels "betrayed", stating that President Marcos could have outrightly rejected cooperation with the Interpol.

"Very vivid pa sa aking memory when he told me nung nag-usap kami sa Malacañang na never siyang mag-cooperate sa ICC. Talagang sinabi niya sa akin (It’s still very vivid in my memory when he told me when we talked in Malacañang that he will never cooperate with the ICC. He really said that),” Dela Rosa said in a phone interview.

"Sabi niya sa akin noon, huwag kang mag-alala hinding-hindi ako mag-cooperate sa ICC. Dahil after ninyo, who's next? Baka kami na naman (He told me then, ‘don’t worry I will never cooperate with the ICC, because after you, who’s next? We might be next),” he added.

This is the first time that the media was able to contact Dela Rosa since former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest. Dela Rosa was the chief implementor of the bloody drug war during Duterte's time.

Duterte was arrested on Tuesday, March 11, after the Interpol received an arrest warrant from the ICC.

The plane carrying the former president took off from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 11:03 p.m. headed to The Hague in the Netherlands, where he will be facing charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs during his administration.

Dela Rosa said that he felt sorry for Duterte but also felt "injustice", calling the government "oppressive.”

After Duterte was flown to The Hague, President Marcos explained that the Philippines was asked to enforce the warrant of arrest against his predecessor, and it only fulfilled its commitment to the Interpol.

"That's a very flimsy alibi for me. That only goes to show na talagang sila'y interesado na i-commit si President Duterte doon sa ICC (they're really interested to commit President Duterte to the ICC)," he said.

Dela Rosa confirmed that he's in the Philippines, within the "mountains of Surigao and Agusan.” He also stated that he turned of his phone since they were busy with crafting their petition.

A petition for certiorari and prohibition with plea for a temporary restraining order (TRO) or writ of preliminary injunction was filed by Duterte and Dela Rosa before the Supreme Court (SC).

Dela Rosa said that he learned about the petition prior to his flight to Hong Kong, which is why he no longer pushed through with it.

Meanwhile, as far as he knows, Dela Rosa said that no arrest warrant has been issued yet against him, and that he'll continue to live a normal life unless the warrant gets served.

He added that he has already spoken to his wife, telling her that he will submit himself once the arrest warrant against him is released.

The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief stated that he could have ran and hide from the if he chose to.

"The Philippines is too wide for me to hide. I can run and I can use some connections to hide," he said.

He said that once he gets wind of the warrant of arrest, he might ask Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero not to surrender him as long as he can stay just until the 19th Congress adjourns, hoping that during this time, a TRO may be released by the SC.

Asked if his stance not to cooperate with the ICC will change, Dela Rosa said that it might considering that Duterte will be at The Hague.

Related Tags

International Criminal Court (ICC) President Marcos Senator Ronald Bato dela Rosa
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.