Palace Denies Bato’s Diversionary Tactic Claims
Malacañang firmly rejected Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s claims of creating new issues out of old ones, emphasizing the opposite is true. The Palace highlighted that discussions about the senator’s possible arrest remain a current and ongoing matter.
Responding to Bato’s allegation that Malacañang is resurfacing his possible ICC arrest to distract from rumors linking First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos to the death of businessman Juan Paolo “Paowee” Tantoco, Palace press officer Claire Castro clarified that the ICC case is still active and not closed.
“First of all, the possible ICC arrest is not an old issue. From time to time, we hear that a warrant of arrest could be issued, and the ICC case itself is also not a closed matter — it remains pending before the court,” Castro explained.
Clarifying the Context of the Issues Raised
Castro further noted that the Palace only revisits past issues when they are relevant to questions raised by the public or media. She questioned who truly keeps bringing up old matters, referencing an earlier probe led by Dela Rosa himself.
“To my recollection, we haven’t been bringing up old issues — unless they are related to questions being asked of us. Who is it, really, that keeps bringing up old issues, including one that, as far as I can remember, was already the subject of a hearing about a PDEA pre-operation way back in 2012?” Castro said.
This referred to Dela Rosa’s previous investigation into leaked Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency dossiers allegedly linking personalities to illegal drugs. These dossiers reportedly included an authority to operate and a pre-operation report dated March 11, 2012, signed by a former PDEA agent.
Palace Stresses No Diversionary Motive
Castro insisted that discussing Dela Rosa’s possible ICC arrest is not a diversionary tactic but a direct reaction to inquiries related to Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin’s recent interview with Japan’s Kyodo News.
During the interview, Bersamin mentioned that Dela Rosa would face “treatment similar to what we did to former president Rodrigo Duterte,” who was arrested in March after the ICC issued a warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.
In response, the senator boldly dared the Marcos administration to arrest him and surrender him to the ICC, just as it did with Duterte. Dela Rosa served as Duterte’s police chief during the controversial war on drugs, which drew international attention for its alleged human rights violations.
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