Dela Rosa hits Marcos’ ‘betrayal to the max’ after Duterte’s arrest

Sen. Ronald “Bato” M. Dela Rosa(Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines—  Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela  Rosa said he felt betrayed when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. supposedly broke his promise that his administration would never cooperate with the  International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to Dela Rosa, it was still “very vivid in his memory” when Marcos told him in Malacanang that he would “never” cooperate with the ICC.

“He told me before: ‘Don’t worry, I will never cooperate with the ICC because after you, who’s next? It might be us.’ That’s what he told me,” dela Rosa told reporters in Filipino in a phone patch interview with Senate reporters on Wednesday.

READ: LIVE UPDATES; Rodrigo Duterte at The Hague

Asked how he felt now after the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, Dela  Rosa initially said:  “Feeling betrayed.”

“Betrayal to the max,” he repeatedly said.

At the request of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), the Philippine government surrendered Duterte to the ICC to face charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration’s brutal war on drugs.

Dela Rosa, who was Duterte’s first national police chief, was named co-accused in the complaint at the ICC.

Marcos maintained, however, that he did not speak with the ICC regarding Duterte’s arrest, saying that the Philippines was just complying with its commitments to the Interpol.

“Interpol asked for help, and we obliged because we have commitments to the Interpol which we have to fulfill. If we don’t do that, they will no longer help us with other cases involving Filipino fugitives abroad,” Marcos said when he faced the media shortly after Duterte’s plane left for The Hague late Tuesday night.

But Dela Rosa did not buy Marcos’ explanation.

“That’s a very flimsy alibi for me. It’s a very flimsy alibi. That only goes to show that he was really interested to commit President Duterte to the ICC,” he said.

Dela Rosa said that Marcos, as president of the Philippines, could have rejected the Interpol’s request outright by explaining that the country no longer recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC.

It was during the time of Duterte when the Philippines withdrew from the ICC  in 2019 after it launched its investigation into his drug war.

“The Interpol would understand that,” the senator said.

“But they’re more interest in the immediate turnover [of the former president]. They didn’t even present to our local courts the person they arrested. They went straight ahead and transported him. They were just too eager,” he added.

“Then it goes  to show they are really the one interested in the arrest. They shouldn’t use the Interpol as an excuse. That’s very shallow,” dela Rosa added.