Palace: Padilla’s advice to dela Rosa shows disregard for law

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday criticized Sen. Robin Padilla’s advice to Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to refuse submission to foreign authorities, calling it a disregard for the law.

Padilla’s advice came amid reports that a warrant of arrest had already been issued against dela Rosa by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

READ: Robin Padilla to Bato dela Rosa: Never surrender to foreign power

“Messages like that only show people who refuse to follow the law. When there is a valid warrant of arrest, we all know what needs to be done,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said at a briefing.

“One should not advise someone to hide and just let the police look for them, because that is their job,” she added.

Castro also noted that there is no confirmation on the issuance of the warrant as of posting time.

READ: PNP: No info yet on dela Rosa’s whereabouts, possible ICC warrant

“As of now, there is still no confirmation on whether any notice has been received regarding the existing warrant of arrest. To our knowledge, even the ICC could not confirm the issuance of the said warrant,” she said.

Dela Rosa served as chief of the Philippine National Police during the time of then-President Rodrigo Duterte. 

He has been notably absent from the Senate since November 10, after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said in a radio interview that an ICC warrant had already been issued against him.

Duterte, on the other hand, has been detained at the ICC in the Netherlands since March. /das