Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s wife, Grace Nancy Dela Rosa, on Monday appealed to the country’s judiciary to keep the senator in the country and have him face a local court instead of allowing him to be flown to The Hague.
In an appeal posted on social media, Dela Rosa’s wife claimed permitting the surrender of another Filipino citizen, after former President Rodrigo Duterte, would be tantamount to admitting to an incapability to handle Dela Rosa’s case.
“Please do not be an accessory to bringing my husband to the Hague. Every Filipino must be tried in his own country. Granting the people in power permission to (voluntarily) surrender another Filipino is an admission that you are weak and INCAPABLE of handling this case, thus the need for an international court to intervene,” she wrote.
“You are a group of great minds. This is just another case sensationalized only by Politics. Please do not waver or give in,” she added.
The senator’s wife called on the judicial branch to make a quick and conclusive decision regarding Dela Rosa’s arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We do not have the luxury of time to wait for your technical arguments and debates. Every moment you remain undecided is an opportunity for them to close in on Bato,” she urged.
Grace Dela Rosa asserted that, unlike these days, when members of a certain “group” of Filipinos are being forcibly turned over overseas, Duterte, while President, had gone to “great lengths” to bring all Filipinos overseas home, including convicts.
“Please do not give up your responsibility for our countrymen. Please fight for our sovereign rights. Your decision will be remembered in history. Please make it count,” she said.
On May 21, the Former Integrated Bar of the Philippines President Atty. Domingo “Egon” Cayosa told DZRH in an exclusive interview that the Supreme Court’s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) as requested in Senator Dela Rosa’s petition seeking to bar the enforcement of the ICC arrest warrant may be as good as “implied recognition” of its validity.
He explained that the absence of a TRO permits authorities to proceed with the enforcement of the warrant.
“Kung walang TRO, tuloy lang dapat ang pag-enforce,” Cayosa said.
