Justices on Bato plea SC not a ‘doormat’
Supreme Court justices who denied Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s petition for a restraining order on his arrest cited “bad faith” in his “conduct,” and said the high court should not be made a “doormat for the wiping clean of those who are charged with blood on their hands.”
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it cannot provide any further updates on dela Rosa’s “case” since it cannot “compromise” ongoing efforts to find the fugitive senator.
Dela Rosa had sought to stop the enforcement of the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), in connection with the Philippine drug war case that may begin trial later this year.
But the Supreme Court on May 20 voted 9-5 against his petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the ICC warrant.
Concurring opinions
Associate Justice Filomena Singh, one of the nine justices who voted against the TRO, cited in her concurring opinion dela Rosa’s “conduct” of hiding for six months and his “resurfacing only for the Senate leadership election” before going into hiding again.
“The present record weighs heavily against the grant of provisional relief [for the petitioner],” she said, adding that dela Rosa “only engaged with the legal processes based on his convenience” and that his “conduct has been tainted with bad faith.”
Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, in his opinion, said the high court “should strongly guard against being used as a politically convenient doormat,” adding that its actions should not allow “coddling those in power” and “impunity to continue.”
The high court “should not come to the rescue of an individual, a public officer no less, who is charged with mass murder and…brought before the ICC to face the consequences of his actions that flouted the rule of law with impunity,” Caguioa also said.
He said Dela Rosa’s “plea for immediate judicial relief must be viewed directly against the country’s recent history of impunity that forced victims of the war on drugs to seek recourse with an international court.”
The Supreme Court should serve as “the last stronghold for the protection of rights for those without it,” Caguioa said, as he warned that “invoking due process to prolong historical injustices is a severe insult to the deceased and trivializes the immense agony of [their] families.”
No update on search
Amid its operation to find dela Rosa, the PNP said it is “now unable to provide further statements regarding [his] case at this time.”
“The matter involves an active and ongoing law enforcement operation and any premature disclosure of information may compromise the integrity of the proceedings and the safety of all parties involved,” PNP public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co said in a press briefing.
“We assure the public and the media that the Philippine National Police remains fully committed to transparency and will provide a comprehensive update through proper channels at the appropriate time,” Co said further.
Dela Rosa was PNP chief from 2016 to 2018, serving in that capacity as the top enforcer of the drug war of then president Rodrigo Duterte.
Before that time, dela Rosa was police chief of Davao City, the Duterte family’s bailiwick, for six years beginning in 2010. He served the mayoralty of Sara Duterte until 2013 and of Rodrigo Duterte until 2016.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. had said earlier the police will not give special treatment to dela Rosa as it now pursues him.
Response to Bondoc
Also on Tuesday, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said his agency has reached out to lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, following “his public representation that he allegedly knows the whereabouts of Senator Ronald M. dela Rosa.”
Vida said this is an opportunity for Bondoc to “cooperate with legal processes and assist law enforcement authorities in the proper service of the ICC warrant.”
Bondoc had said in a television interview that the ICC warrant can be handed over to dela Rosa’s lawyers including himself and they, in turn, will serve their client that warrant.
Vida also said the Department of Justice (DOJ) has subpoenaed the Office of the Senate Secretary as well as the PNP to turn over dela Rosa’s inventory of firearms and other pertinent records.
The PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office (PNP-FEO) said it had already recommended to its chief, Brig. Gen. Jose Manalad Jr., the cancellation of dela Rosa’s gun licenses even before this was requested by the National Bureau of Investigation.
“The decision is lodged with our Chief [of] FEO as the delegated authority,” FEO legal officer Lt. Col. Domer Tadeo said on Tuesday.—WITH A REPORT FORM KATHLEEN DE VILLA
