Maria Virginia Sy

Bato’s actions to 'harm' Duterte’s interim release bid—expert

Article (news)

Marilyn Cahatol

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177881942936620170130-rodrgio-duterte-bato-dela-rosa-AFP.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) talks to Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa (right) during a press conference at the Malacanang palace in Manila on January 30, 2017. Philippine&#x27;s President Rodrigo Duterte on January 30, 2017 extended his deadly drug war until the last day of his term in 2022, but conceded the police force acting as his frontline troops was &quot;corrupt to the core&quot;.<em> Noel Celiz, AFP/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The recent actions of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will “do more harm than any good” on the interim release request of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, an international law expert said Friday. </p><p>The Duterte camp has applied for a new interim release request after its first application was rejected last year over concerns that Duterte is a high flight risk and might evade trial. </p><p>“So this network, this idea that there is a network that supports Duterte and his allies is reinforced by what is happening in the Philippines,” International Center for Transnational Justice&#x27;s Ruben Carranza told ANC’s Headstart. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/12/duterte-camp-submits-new-medical-evidence-to-icc-for-interim-release-bid-1228">Duterte camp submits new medical evidence to ICC for interim release bid</a></div><p>Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano confirmed that <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/14/bato-has-left-senate-premises-1107">Dela Rosa left the Senate premises</a> at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, despite being under protective custody following<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/13/bato-dela-rosa-now-officially-included-in-icc-s-wanted-persons-list-1721"> ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant. </a></p><p>Dela Rosa left the upper chamber hours after gunshots were heard inside the premises, which some alleged was used as a “diversion tactic” to cover his “escape.”</p><p>The arrest warrant identified the senator as among the co-perpetrators of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged crimes against humanity, stemming from the thousands of deaths recorded during the war on drugs campaign. </p><p>Duterte, who has been at the ICC detention facility since his arrest March last year, is set to face a full trial before the international tribunal.</p><p>Carranza said Dela Rosa, should he be arrested, might also seek an interim release like Duterte, “and it&#x27;s very, very unlikely that the court will grant interim release seeing what&#x27;s happening in the Philippines.”</p><p>The senator’s camp has filed a petition for the Supreme Court to issue a <a href="http://Bato’s camp reiterates prayer for TRO at Supreme Court">temporary restraining order</a> against the arrest warrant’s implementation. </p><p>Carranza noted that the SC has previously recognized that the Republic Act 9851, or the &quot;Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity,&quot; allows the government to serve an ICC warrant without a local court order. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/15/-he-is-a-free-man-pdp-says-bato-s-stay-at-senate-not-detention-1015">‘He is a free man’: Bato’s stay at Senate ‘not detention,’ ICC warrant &#x27;invalid&#x27;—PDP</a></div><div> </div><div><strong>‘DELA ROSA IS NOT DUTERTE’</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The lawyer noted that while the senator successfully left due to his preparation after seeing Duterte’s arrest, it may also be because “Dela Rosa is not Duterte.”</p><p>“I&#x27;m not even sure that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is interested in accountability in this case with respect to Dela Rosa. De la Rosa is not Duterte,” Carranza said. </p><p>“Marcos Jr. is obviously more interested in getting rid of a political rival in the Duterte family than actually holding Duterte accountable, or holding everyone who should be held accountable for the massive number of killings in the drug war,” he added. </p><p>The former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who is also facing an impeachment case, has announced her intent to run for president in 2028. </p><p>Meanwhile, Carranza underscored that Dela Rosa was given the “luxury” to have an entire political institution like the Senate engage for his &quot;escape,&quot; something that is not granted to ordinary Filipinos facing arrest warrants for lesser crimes.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/13/cayetano-says-sen-dela-rosa-is-secured-okay-2150">Cayetano says Sen. Dela Rosa is &#x27;secured, okay&#x27;; Remulla assures no arrest will be made</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/14/nbi-senate-must-answer-for-dela-rosa-s-escape-from-protective-custody-1739">NBI: Senate must answer for Dela Rosa’s ‘escape’ from protective custody</a></div><p>“If we zoom out and see and ask whether this luxury is afforded to ordinary Filipinos who face warrants of arrest for far lesser crimes than killing thousands of people, then you have your answer. It’s selective justice and it’s not fair,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3-62CtDe8o4?si=whF6jz7CfkKDQrys" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The recent actions of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will “do more harm than any good” on the interim release request of former President Rodrigo Duterte.</p>

The recent actions of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa will “do more harm than any good” on the interim release request of former President Rodrigo Duterte.