Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, contrary to previous statements expressing readiness to join former President Rodrigo Duterte under the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) custody in the Netherlands, appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to permit the foreign court to seize him.

“Sana huwag niya (President Marcos Jr.) akong ipadala sa The Hague… Pareho tayong Pilipino, Mr. President. Kung mayroon akong pananagutan, panagutan ko dito sa ating local court, huwag doon sa banyaga,” dela Rosa said before the media on Tuesday morning.

Earlier, in response to a question regarding whether he would ever surrender to the ICC, he questioned why he should, as a Filipino citizen.

“Why? (should he surrender to the ICC) Ikaw ba, gusto mo sumurrender doon? Pilipino ka, you have existing Philippine codes. Bakit magpapa-try ka doon sa mga banyaga? This is an attack on our sovereignty,” he said, adding that, according to the Rome Statute, the ICC is a supplementary court—whose intervention is unnecessary in the Philippine context, where the justice system is “very much alive.”

On Monday, agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) attempted to apprehend the senator, pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC.

His legal counsel, Atty. Israelito “Bobbet” Torreon told DZRH that no foreign court may seize a Filipino citizen unless its arrest warrant has been processed and approved by a local court.

Moreover, former Senator Antonio Trillanes, as a civilian, is in no place to serve a warrant of arrest, he added.

The ICC confirmed that it has issued an arrest warrant for dela Rosa in connection with his alleged role in the former administration’s Drug War.