Bato Dela Rosa loses temper on ANC, stands by drug war campaign

With former President Rodrigo Duterte now formally in the custody of the International Criminal Court or ICC, focus has shifted as to who might be arrested next.

Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the architect of Duterte’s bloody anti-drug war, is seen as the most likely next target. He was missing in action on the day Duterte was arrested but has since made media appearances to answer questions about his own possible arrest.

In a phone patch interview on ANC’s Dateline Philippines Thursday, Dela Rosa was asked what actions he would take if an arrest warrant were issued against him.

“Kung lalabas ‘yung warrant of arrest ko, at ako’y ipapahuli talaga ng ating gobyerno, then I will avail the protection that is going to be afforded to me by the Senate as an institution,” he said. “I will avail of that, at kung hanggang saan kaya ako protektahan ng Senado, doon lang ako. Pag sinabing hindi na kaya, you have to surrender yourself, then I will turn in myself peacefully.”

When anchor Karmina Constantino asked why he planned to seek protection from the Senate rather than face the charges head-on, a clearly irritated Dela Rosa fired back: “Ikaw, Karmina, tanungin kita, ikaw gusto mong harapin ang ganyang klase ng kaso na mga foreigner na mga walang kaalam-alam sa mga nangyayari sa Pilipinas? ‘Yan ang maglilitis sa’yo, ‘yan magtatry sa’yo? Haharapin mo ‘yan?”

“Opo,” Constantino calmly replied.

“Sabi ko nga if we have the goods, harapin mo. Mag-file kayo dito sa Pilipinas. Bakit doon pa sa ICC?” Dela Rosa said.

When Constantino said victims of extrajudicial killings turned to the ICC since they believe they had no chance of getting justice in the country, Dela Rosa’s voice rose in frustration.

“Anong wala, Karmina, anong wala?” he said. “Sa tagal ng wala sa poder si Pangulong Duterte. Three years na na presidente si Bongbong Marcos na ngayon ay atat na atat na dalhin si Pangulong Duterte doon sa The Hague. Anong wala, bakit hindi sila nag-file? Kung meron silang kaso laban sa amin, bakit hindi sila nakapafile ng kaso? Sarado ba ang ating mga korte sa Pilipinas? Hindi ba nagpafunction? Sarado ba?”

Constantino then recalled her conversation with Jane Lee, whose husband was among the estimated 30,000 killed during the war on drugs. Lee claimed they were too frightened at the time to even request a death certificate or file a police report.

“Ang sagot ko diyan, tell it to the marines,” Dela Rosa replied. “All you said are all propaganda. Ah bakit sino hindi magbigay ng kopya ng kanilang death certificates? Sige sabihin mo sakin, kasuhan natin. Huwag na, huwag na, don’t me, don’t me, Karmina. Huwag na nila kaming lokohin.”

Dela Rosa continued, “Why, Karmina, please tell me, can you say to me point blank na hindi nagpafunction ang ating judicial system sa Pilipinas? Sige nga, tell me. Huwag niyo kaming dramahan na hindi makakuha ng death certificate, huwag na.”

“Senator…” Constantino tried to chime in.

“That’s plain bullshit, that’s plain propaganda,” Dela Rosa cut in.

“Senator, let’s watch our words. We’re live on ANC, we’re live on air, and a lot of people are listening and watching,” Constantino reminded the senator.

“No, I don’t care, I don’t care. You stop interviewing me so that I will stop saying these words,” Bato responded.

“No, we do want to interview you because we know you’re an important factor in this developing story, you’re an important element as well,” Constantino said, to which he responded, “Then thank you, thank you.”

When asked to explain the thousands killed during the drug campaign, Dela Rosa sounded defensive.

“‘Yaan nga, Karmina, ang mahirap. You keep on blaming us,” he said.

“No, I am not blaming you. I’m asking you for your explanation,” said Constantino.

“You file a case against me if you want to, kung gusto ninyo, kasi palagi niyo na lang sinasabi,” Dela Rosa said as his voice grew louder. “Kasi gusto ninyo na ‘yung buong kaso, ‘yung 6,000 cases, gusto ninyong i-classify lahat ‘yan as extrajudicial killing. EJK kaagad ang gusto ninyo. Please, please investigate individually, separately ‘yung mga kaso na ‘yan and you will find out the truth, kung ano talaga ang nangyayari diyan.”

When asked what he did to stop the deaths from mounting during his term as PNP chief, Dela Rosa responded, “Karmina, inimbestigahan natin lahat ng pulis na nagkakamali. We are at war with the drug syndicates,” adding that it was impossible that deaths could be avoided.

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