Bato reports PNP escorts’ removal; maybe because he ‘disappeared,’ says Palace
Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Tuesday said the Philippine National Police had “recalled’’ the two officers who served as his security detail whenever he was in Davao City, days after the arrest of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte on orders from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Dela Rosa, who served as the first PNP chief of the Duterte administration, and who lately had spoken of plans to avoid capture should the ICC also order his arrest, said he understood the PNP’s decision.
“The commanders of the police force are just being careful and I understand them. They are not persecuting me. They are just avoiding possible problems in the future… they are just avoiding conflict,” he told reporters in a phone interview.
Short PNP denial
But in a message to reporters, the PNP Public Information Office tersely dismissed Dela Rosa’s statement as “fake news,” quoting its Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG), the unit in charge of assigning bodyguards to government VIPs.
The PNP and the PSPG did not elaborate or respond to questions why it was belying the senator’s disclosure.
Also reacting to the senator’s statement, Malacañang press officer Claire Castro said: “Maybe it’s because he disappeared. The security detail cannot just hang around if he’s gone. Maybe if he just showed up, then it wouldn’t become a problem.”
“Where is Senator Bato, anyway? Do we see him? As of the moment, I don’t see him. So how can we provide him security if he doesn’t show himself?” Castro said in a media briefing.
In a social media post earlier on Tuesday, Dela Rosa said that “When I returned here in Davao City, my security detail was already gone. They were asked to report to their unit.”
In the media interview, he explained that minimize transportation costs he maintained two separate security teams—one in Metro Manila and another in Davao, the Duterte bailiwick where he had also served as city police chief.
The two officers who were removed from his Davao detail had been with him for years, he added.
Prior to Duterte’s arrest, Dela Rosa, who is seeking reelection in May, repeatedly dared the ICC to order his arrest. He was one of the officials investigated in the case filed in the ICC against the ex-president for crimes against humanity over the thousands killed in the antidrug campaign.
The senator later changed his tune, first saying he would avail himself of “Senate protection” should ICC warrant is served.
On Tuesday, he said he would yield only if the warrant would come from a Philippine court. —WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS, NESTOR CORRALES AND JULIE M. AURELIO
