Lacson: Call for due process won’t shield Bato dela Rosa from ICC trial

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Tuesday said that his call for due process for Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa does not mean shielding his colleague from facing trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to Lacson, “due process means allowing Senator dela Rosa to face trial before the ICC rather than risk violence and worse, tragedy.”

In a media release, he stressed that due process is a fundamental right that belongs to all human beings, including dela Rosa, who previously served under him in the Philippine National Police and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force.

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READ: Lacson prays for peaceful arrest of Dela Rosa

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Dela Rosa is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant in connection with the tribunal’s investigation into the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.

The senator went into hiding after learning of the arrest warrant.

He briefly surfaced at the Senate on May 11 to complete the 13 votes needee to seat Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president.

However, dela Rosa went into hiding again following the shooting incident inside the Senate premises on May 13.

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Lacson’s latest statement follows his Oct. 26 remarks that dela Rosa was safer in the Philippines than abroad because of the international nature of the arrest warrant.

He also previously called for a peaceful arrest of dela Rosa, stressing that the senator should not be denied due process despite critics saying that victims of extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration were deprived of the same right.

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Dela Rosa remains the subject of a manhunt with a P50-million bounty for his capture. /mr