Bato to BBM: ‘Dont send me to ICC’

National

EMBATTLED Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to send him to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"Sana 'wag niya akong ipadala sa The Hague, 'yun lang naman. Kahit saang court dito sa Pilipinas. Pareho tayong Pilipino (I hope he doesn’t send me to The Hague, that’s all. Any court here in the Philippines is fine. We are both Filipinos)," Dela Rosa said in an interview with reporters on Tuesday, May 12, per a report by Philstar.

Dela Rosa told Marcos that he is willing to face charges as long it is filed before local courts.

"Mr. President, kung meron akong pananagutan, pananagutan ko dito sa local court, 'wag dun sa banyaga (Mr. President, if I have any accountability, I should be held accountable in a local court, not in a foreign one)," he added.

Dela Rosa, a former PNP Chief, admitted being scared because of the situation he is in now.

"Tao lang naman tayo (We're just humans),” he said.

"Despite sa lahat ng aking pinagdaanan, the more I am humanized. Sa lahat ng trials, sa lahat ng hardship na pinagdaanan, the more na nahumanize ako," Dela Rosa, who is the architect of the operations that resulted in 30,000 deaths during the drug war (Despite everything I've been through, the more I am humanized. Through all the trials and hardships I've endured, the more I have become humanized),” he added.

The lawmaker appeared in the Senate for the first time since October 2025 and became one of the senators who voted to oust former Senate President Tito Sotto.

Sotto was replaced by Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano.

Dela Rosa’s return to the Senate became chaotic when he was chased by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation to enforce the ICC's arrest warrant against him.

The ICC confirmed the warrant against Dela Rosa. It said Dela Rosa is allegedly liable as an indirect co-perpetrator for crimes committed between July 2, 2016, and the end of April 2018, during which no fewer than 32 people were killed.(MyTVCebu)