Bato dela Rosa asks Marcos: 'Don't fly me to The Hague'

Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa on Tuesday appealed to President Ferdinand "Bong" Marcos Jr. not to surrender him to the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid the issuance of an arrest warrant against him over his links to the controversial war on drugs.

Dela Rosa, who is under the protective custody of the Senate, is currently staying at the chamber amid the ICC warrant of arrest in in connection with the crimes against humanity case involving former president Rodrigo Duterte.

"Mr. President, alam kong wala kang personal na galit sakin. Sana naman bilang ama ng ating bansa, alagaan mo ang iyong mga anak. Alagaan mo ang lahat ng mga Pilipino," dela Rosa told reporters.

(Mr. President, I know you don't have a personal vendetta against me. I hope that as the head of the state, you would take care of your constituents.)

"Huwag niya ako ipadala sa The Hague...Pareho tayong Pilipino, kung meron akong pananagutan, panagutan ko sa ating local court, huwag sa banyaga," he said.

(I hope he won't surrender me to the ICC and send me to The Hague. We are both Filipinos. If I have any case, I would like to face it before our local court, not a foreign one.)

On Monday, agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) attempted to arrest dela Rosa in the Senate premises. CCTV footage showed the senator running up stairs and corridors en route to the Plenary Hall to evade his civilian-attired pursuers.

Senators later voted to cite the agents in contempt and place them under the custody of the chamber. Following a meeting with NBI Director Melvin Matibag, the agents were placed under NBI custody.

Dela Rosa appeared at the Senate for the first time since November 2025 to attend Monday's plenary session. He has not attended any session at the Senate amid claims that the ICC issued a warrant of arrest against him. —RF, GMA News