Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday urged the government to ensure Senator Ronald dela Rosa’s rights and due process amid reports of a possible International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
Cayetano said Dela Rosa cannot safely attend Senate sessions without assurance that he would not be arrested or deported to The Hague without the intervention of Philippine courts.
‘‘What Senator Bato is asking for is the assurance that if there is a warrant of arrest, he will first be able to go to our courts,†he said.
‘‘The one at fault is not Sen. Bato. I’m not saying what he’s doing is right.
‘‘What I’m saying is that we, the Philippine government and the Senate, are falling short,’’ Cayetano lamented.
He pointed to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest by Interpol earlier this year on an ICC warrant for crimes against humanity, noting Duterte was immediately flown to the Netherlands without any judicial review from Philippine courts.
The minority leader also criticized Senate leadership and the administration for failing to safeguard Dela Rosa’s legal rights.
He argued that the Senate should protect every Filipino’s rights including those of Dela Rosa and rejected the idea that local courts have no authority in such international proceedings.
‘‘I’m a lawyer, I haven’t seen any treaty or law that allows someone to be simply taken away. Even in our treaties, there are crimes here and crimes there,’’ Cayetano said.
He further argued that filing an ethics case against Dela Rosa under these circumstances would be unjustified.
The senator likened such punishment to expelling a student for circumstances beyond their control, calling it illogical.
‘‘This is a case where the Senate itself, the leadership, all of us should stand up for a senator and ask whether he is receiving the legal protection that every Filipino deserves,’’ Cayetano said.
