THE unexpected and sudden appearance of Sen. Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa at the Senate last Monday, May 11, after a forced absence of six months in the upper chamber, following an announcement of Ombudsman Jesus “Boying” Remulla confirming that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had a warrant of arrest issued against the senator, tagged as a co-perpetrator in the commission of the crime against humanity case filed against former president Rodrigo Duterte, triggered a bizarre turn of political events.
It brought a swift change in the Senate leadership, resulting in the ouster of Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III as Senate president and putting Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano at the helm.
It also paved the way for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents to attempt to enforce the ICC-issued arrest warrant against Senator Bato. Apparently, the NBI received intelligence information on the former’s going to the Senate that Monday to attend the Senate session; hence, its operatives were already lying in wait at the Senate building to serve the arrest warrant, which incidentally and significantly, was not shown to him.
After a brief scuffle with two female NBI agents, Senator Bato was able to wiggle himself free and run toward the session hall with the NBI agents in hot pursuit. He was able to enter the session hall, where he joined his colleagues and condemned the assault on his person and the attempt by the NBI agents to prevent him from attending the Senate session. He also lambasted the NBI for disrespecting the Senate as a democratic institution.
With the NBI agents surrounding the Senate building, putting the lawmaker’s liberty in peril, Senator Bato was compelled to seek sanctuary in his Senate office and stayed there for two nights. The Senate, by way of giving succor to one of its members, resolved to give him protective custody.
On Wednesday, May 13, at about past 7 p.m., while Senator Bato was holed up inside the Senate building, an exchange of gunshots between the Senate security forces and the NBI agents occurred, putting the people inside the Senate building in a chaotic situation.
In the early morning of Thursday, May 14, thinking that his continued presence in the legislative building would endanger the lives of his colleagues and the employees, as well as other individuals, in the event that the NBI operatives would force their way in to arrest him, Senator Bato left the Senate premises, his present whereabouts unknown.
The departure of Senator Bato from the Senate is as unexpected as his arrival there, making the Senate shakeup fragile. His presence brought about a change in the Senate leadership, but his sudden disappearing act could spark another Senate coup, as the minority senators could persuade the two abstaining senators and one female senator who was bruited as seeking the top post, but apparently outplayed by the new Senate president, could be titillated to join them and sit as the presiding officer.
The present dispensation’s attempt at making a repeat performance on Senator Bato of the infamous arrest, detention and rendition of former president Duterte to The Hague — despite the pendency of the petition of the writ of habeas corpus filed by his younger daughter, Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, on behalf of her father on the legality of the latter’s arrest and incarceration as well the jurisdiction of the ICC — is an incorrigible, blatant and contemptuous constitutional transgression.
Since the facts and circumstances revolving around Bato’s situation are identical to that of former President Duterte, it is imperative that any executive action on the enforcement of an ICC-issued warrant must be held in abeyance until the Supreme Court makes a definitive ruling on the various constitutional issues raised in the habeas corpus petition.
The executive department’s move to serve a spurious warrant of arrest coming from a foreign tribunal that has no jurisdiction over a non-member country like the Philippines is a continuing assault on our own legal system and a surrender of our sovereignty to a foreign institution. Such constitutional travesty is a high crime and a betrayal of the public trust.
Such government action validates the accusation that the present administration has engineered the enforcement of the invalid warrant of arrest against the former president, in conspiracy with the ICC, given the fact that the chief executive has repeatedly proclaimed a foreign policy of not recognizing the jurisdiction of the ICC and proclaiming that the government would not cooperate with the ICC “in whatever form or shape” over the Philippines.
The assault on and attempt to arrest Senator Bato as he entered the Senate building to attend a Senate session by the agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to enforce another ICC-issued warrant of arrest — reinforces the accusation that the government is indeed behind the blatant violation of the constitutional rights of the senator, as the NBI would not have committed its brazen disrespect of a third branch of government without the go-signal from the highest authority of the land.
Both the Constitution and the Rome Statute are explicit on the issuance and enforcement of a warrant of arrest.
The Constitution requires a court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of an arrest warrant after finding of probable cause.
The Rome Statute requires that, before an ICC warrant of arrest is enforced, it has to pass before a local judicial authority.
Due process must be observed. In both the Duterte and de la Rosa cases, due process has been deliberately denied to them.
Supreme Court must step in
These constitutional travesties must end. The Supreme Court, as the last bulwark of democracy, should step in and stop these outrageous atrocities that imperil democratic institutions and processes.
The continued constitutional transgressions by those mandated by the sovereign people to preserve and defend the Constitution threaten to ignite another political upheaval, destructive of our nation and society.
