Stressing that everyone is given protection in accordance with the law, Malacañang assured that if Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, who is now wanted for crimes against humanity, is arrested, he will receive protection.

"Kung naaresto man po siya, kung maaaresto man po siya, lahat ng karapatan bilang isang akusado ay ibibigay po sa kanya (If he is arrested, all the rights accorded to an accused person will be granted to him)," Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday, May 12.

Castro underscored that the victims of extrajudicial killings (EJK) are also seeking protection from the government, stressing that they, too, deserved to be protected.

"Maski naman po iyong mga EJK victims ay humihingi rin po ng proteksyon sa gobyerno. So, ang akusadong katulad ni Senator Bato ay humihingi ng proteksyon, lahat naman po ay bibigyan ng proteksyon na naaayon sa batas (Even the victims of EJK are also seeking protection from the government. So if an accused person like Senator Bato is asking for protection, everyone will be given protection in accordance with the law)," Castro said.

On Tuesday, a day after he finally showed up at the Senate, Dela Rosa appealed to President Marcos for protection after the International Criminal Court (ICC) confirmed that there was indeed an arrest warrant issued against him over crimes against humanity in connection with at least 32 killings allegedly committed during the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

Before asking for the President's protection, Dela Rosa was already placed under protective custody by the Senate.

Castro pointed out that while Senators enjoy a privilege wherein they cannot be arrested while the Senate is in session, they must know that such privilege has limitations.

"Mayroon pong tinatawag na privilege para hindi po hulihin ang sinumang senador habang nasa session kapag siya po ay nasa vicinity ng Senado. But alam po natin na ito ay may limitasyon (There is what we call a privilege that prevents any senator from being arrested while in session and while the senator is within the vicinity of the Senate. But we know that this privilege has limitations)," Castro said.

"Kapag po ang isang krimen na nagawa ay may penalty na more than six years, hindi po mag-a-apply itong pribilehiyo na ito (If a crime carries a penalty of more than six years, this privilege does not apply)," Castro added.

The Palace mouthpiece also said that the Senators must know the law, since they are lawmakers, and they must also know the limitation o f their power.

"Welll, ayaw nating pangunahan ang mga senador but dapat alam nila kung ano ang batas kasi mambabatas sila. So, alam nila kung ano ang limitasyon nila, ano lang iyong kanilang authority, ano lang iyong power nila but they should not go beyond the law (Well, we do not want to preempt the senators, but they should know what the law says because they are lawmakers. So they know what their limitations are, what their authority is, and what powers they have, but they should not go beyond the law)," Castro said.

While appealing for protection, Dela Rosa also urged the President to reflect as the day may come that he might also end up in the senator's situation.

Castro said, "That’s definitely impossible" because "the President did not commit EJK."

While Marcos has not yet issued a direct order in relation to the arrest of Dela Rosa, the President wants law enforcers to follow the law.

"Nabalitaan po ng Pangulo ang nangyari kahapon. At ang lagi naman pong utos ng Pangulo sa lahat ng enforcement agencies sa lahat po ng pagkakataon, hindi lamang po dito patungkol kay Senator Bato, dapat lamang ay sumunod kung ano ang sinasabi ng batas (The President learned about what happened yesterday. And the President’s standing directive to all enforcement agencies, in all situations not only in matters concerning Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, is that they must simply follow what the law says)," Castro said.

She explained that the Philippines has two options in Dela Rosa's case: to surrender or to extradite. But since extradition can occur only between two states and the ICC is not a state, the country can enforce only Republic Act No. 9851, the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

According to Castro, since the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC, Republic Act No. 9851 is the law that applies to Dela Rosa’s case.

"Ang umiiral po na batas sa atin ay ang RA 9851. At iyon po ang ipapatupad sa anumang pagkakataon dahil ito naman pong RA 9851 ay nagamit na rin po ng Supreme Court sa ibang mga kaso (The law that applies to us is Republic Act 9851. And that is what will be enforced in any situation because the Supreme Court has also already used RA 9851 in other cases)," Castro said.

The Palace official also pointed out that the country has an obligation to the Interpol and to all victims of EJK.

"Ang nagsampa po kasi ng kaso sa ICC ay kapwa natin Pilipino. At mayroon din po tayong obligasyon sa Interpol, mayroon din po tayong obligasyon na ang lahat ng dapat na managot ay managot dahil dapat din po nating proteksyunan iyong mga diumano na nabiktima ng EJK (The ones who filed the case before the ICC are also Filipinos. We also have obligations to Interpol, and we likewise have an obligation to ensure that all those who should be held accountable are held accountable, because we must also protect those who were allegedly victims of EJK)," Castro stressed.

"At ayon sa RA 9851, at maliwanag ito sa Section 17, na kung mayroon na pong nakapagsimula na state or international tribunal patungkol sa pag-iimbestiga ay puwede nating i-defer, puwede nating i-waive iyong ating karapatan at ibigay na sa international court ang pagpapaimbestiga, at iyon naman din po ang sinusunod ng RA natin, dito sa RA 9851 (And under RA 9851, as clearly stated in Section 17, if a state or an international tribunal has already initiated an investigation, we may defer or waive our jurisdiction and allow the international court to proceed with the investigation. And that is also what our RA 9851 provides)," Castro explained.

Dela Rosa was accused by the ICC of crimes against humanity in connection with the killings allegedly committed during the Duterte administration's war on drugs. He was then the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), which was the key implementer of the drug war campaign.

The ICC confirmed on Monday that it issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa, who had been absent from the Senate for six months before appearing on Monday.