“The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) calls on the Philippine Senate to stop coddling Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and immediately surrender him to Philippine authorities so he may be tried for his alleged crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC),” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy on Wednesday.
“No government or state institution should protect an alleged mass murderer such as Dela Rosa. Like Rodrigo Duterte, he must face the charges against him as chief implementor of the sham war on drugs during the Duterte presidency,” added Murphy.
In a wild turn of events, Dela Rosa, who had not appeared in Senate for the past six months, surprisingly attended the upper house’s session yesterday to cast his vote for a sudden and orchestrated change in senate leadership that saw then Senate President Tito Sotto replaced by pro-Duterte Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. This coincided with the historic second impeachment resolution against Vice President Sara Duterte by the House of Representatives.
“Dela Rosa should not run away again from the authorities like he did yesterday in the senate chamber,” continued Murphy.
“ICHRP stands in solidarity with the victims of the bloody drug war, which was really a war on the poor. The families of the victims continue to call for justice. We enjoin the international community to amplify the call and press the Marcos Jr. government to implement the ICC arrest warrant to apprehend Dela Rosa.”
