Bato dela Rosa lawyers question DOJ arrest order

The lawyers of embattled Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa questioned the directive by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to arrest him.

According to Marisol Abdurahman’s report in “24 Oras” on Thursday, they noted that the arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) should go through the process of a local court.

“We have to respect our Constitution. We have to respect customary international law. We have to respect treaty law in this regard,” said Israelito Torreon.

“In the spirit of fair play and due process, and even humanitarianism, hindi po nila pwede i-effect ang isang inactionable na warrant through misrepresentations,” said Jimmy Bondoc.

Dela Rosa’s lawyers also questioned the government's shifting statements, as it had claimed before that there was no order to arrest the senator.

“Prior to the order rendered by the Supreme Court, they were saying to the public or he was saying to the public that there can be no arrest, on the part of the government, of Senator Bato,” said Torreon.

He was referring to the Supreme Court’s earlier decision denying Dela Rosa’s plea for a temporary restraining order against a possible arrest by the ICC.

It’s clear for the senator’s lawyers that the government is aiming to capture Dela Rosa.

“By the sheer act of the President’s arm, by hook or by crook, gusto nilang kunin si Bato. And this simply looks like a Duterte 2.0 move. It is my personal and earnest opinion that this is political, no matter how they frame it,” said Bondoc.

Both counsels maintained Dela Rosa is not escaping any liability.

“Proper cases can be filed in our country because we have a healthy prosecutorial system. We have a healthy judiciary,” said Torreon.

The lawyers assured that they will exhaust all legal remedies for the senator. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA News