MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) can do whatever it wants, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said on Wednesday.
Finally breaking his silence, the senator responded to Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra’s statement that the Philippine government could not stop the ICC’s prosecutor from interviewing suspects in the alleged crimes against humanity committed during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
READ: PH gov’t can’t stop ICC from probing drug war suspects – SolGen
Dela Rosa and four other retired and incumbent police officers were tagged as suspects by the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC.
READ: ICC prosecutor tags Bato dela Rosa, 4 PNP execs as ‘suspects
“We have no control over them,” Dela Rosa said in an interview at the Senate. “Kung ano ang gusto nilang gawin, e ‘di gawin nila.”
(We have no control over them. If they want to do something, they might as well just do it.)
But no one from the ICC has reached out to him yet, the senator said.
“Wala, wala (none),” Dela Rosa said.
He was also unfazed by the reported request of the ICC prosecutor to put him under the International Police’s (Interpol) “blue notice.”
Interpol notices, according to its website, are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.
A blue notice seeks “to collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.”
“I don’t know kung posible ba ‘yan. Nasa kanila lang ‘yan,” Dela Rosa said of the said blue notice request.
(I don’t know if that’s possible. That’s up to them.)
When asked if he was still hoping the Philippine government would protect him from the ICC probe, the senator said, “Sabi naman nila palagi noon (Like what they said before), investigating is one thing, or issuance of [a] warrant is one thing, and implementation of [a] warrant is another thing.”
One thing is certain: Dela Rosa is not bothered by the latest actions of the ICC.
“Bakit ako maba-bother? Hayaan mo na sila. I’m not bothered. Hayaan mo sila, go ahead,” he said.
(Why should I be bothered? Let them be. I’m not bothered. Let them be, go ahead)
As then police chief during Duterte’s administration, Dela Rosa was the chief implementer of Duterte’s ruthless war on illegal drugs.
READ: Dela Rosa admits rights abuses in ‘drug war’: Probe each case separately