Teacher seeks Bato dela Rosa arrest, prohibition on using Senate as sanctuary

Teacher Barry Tayam on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to prohibit Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa from using the Senate as a sanctuary and to direct law enforcement agencies to execute the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

In a 17-page petition, Tayam asked the SC to issue a writ of prohibition enjoining dela Rosa from using the Senate and to prohibit the Senate leadership from interfering with the legal operations of the law enforcement agencies.

He also asked the SC to direct the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to coordinate the service and execution of the ICC warrant.

“At this point, hindi niya sana gamitin ‘yung Senado… Kapag ordinaryong mamamayan ay may kaso, aaresto agad. ‘Yun ngang hablot nga lang, ‘yung maliliit na magnanakaw, minsan nabubugbog pa. Tapos siya may proteksyon pa sa batas?” he said in an ambush interview.

(At this point, he should not use the Senate… When ordinary citizens have cases, they are arrested immediately. Even those who just snatch things, small-time thieves, sometimes even get beaten up, yet he still gets protection under the law?)

He called on the senator to face the allegations against him.

“Patunayan niyo po sa Korte na kayo po ay walang kasalanan. At the same time, di ba gusto niyo makasama si Tatay Digong? Ito na ang pagkakataon po. Magkikita na kayo,” he said.

(Prove to the Court that you are innocent. At the same time, right, don’t you want to be with Tatay Digong? This is now the opportunity. You will finally see each other.)

Aside from this, he asked the SC to declare null and void Senate Resolution 44, which states that no citizen may be surrendered to a foreign entity without exhausting domestic legal remedies.

Tayam said he believes the resolution is not binding nor does it have the power to override Republic Act (RA) 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

“Meron po kasi tayong batas na sinasabi it could be surrender or extradite according to RA 9851, Section 17,” he said.

(We have a law that says it could be surrender or extradition according to RA 9851, Section 17.)

On Monday, the ICC confirmed the issuance of an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa due to alleged criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator of former president Rodrigo Duterte in the crimes against humanity in connection with the alleged extrajudicial killings from July 2016 to April 2018. Dela Rosa was the head of the Davao City Police chief during Duterte’s term as mayor and was promoted to Philippine National Police chief when Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016.

Tayam also asked the SC to grant the urgent motion for a special raffle due to the transcendental importance and urgency of the constitutional issues.

For his part, Dela Rosa has filed a new manifestation with the Supreme Court (SC) for his immediate judicial protection. He said his camp will exhaust all means to prevent his arrest. —KG, GMA News