Robin: If Bato arrested by ICC, ‘isama niyo na ako’

Senator Robin Padilla on Thursday said he will join his ally, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in jail if the latter is arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Kung huhulihin nila si Bato isama niyo na ako dahil ako isa ako sa sumuporta kay Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte diyan sa drug war,” Padilla said in an interview with reporters.

“Walang iwanan nga e. Sasamahan ko sila kung saan sila, tutal sanay naman tayo sa kulungan. Sa abroad pa, naku masarap pagkain doon. Okay 'yon,” Padilla, a former person deprived of liberty, added.

(If they arrest Bato, then they should also arrest me because I am one of those who supported [former] President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s drug war. I will not forsake them. I will stick with them, after all I’m used to living inside prison. And abroad, the food will be good there. That's okay.)

The lawmaker issued the remark as he expressed confidence that Senator Francis Tolentino will do well as Dela Rosa’s legal counsel.

On Wednesday, Tolentino disclosed that he accepted Dela Rosa’s request to be his legal counsel in all proceedings related to the ICC investigation into the Duterte administration’s drug war.

Meanwhile, Duterte, in a speech during the 32nd national convention of the Prosecutors' League of the Philippines on Wednesday said he couldn't care less about the ICC.

The former president once again said that he would "stake my name, my honor and my presidency" on the fight against illegal drugs and criminality during his six-year term.

"Dito sa droga, sa criminality, just like Davao, it is a matter of principle for me. And I will die for it. If I rot in prison, so be it," he said.

Padilla, Tolentino, and Dela Rosa are all members of a PDP-Laban faction that was chaired by Duterte.

Dela Rosa, who earlier described himself as the "number two accused" in the drug war probe of the ICC, was Duterte’s first Philippine National Police chief.

Duterte's drug war has been blamed for thousands of deaths, with government figures pegged at around 6,000 but human rights groups saying the actual number could reach as high as 30,000.

Recently, the ICC rejected the Philippine government’s appeal seeking the reversal of the international tribunal’s decision to resume the probe into the Duterte administration's controversial war on drugs.

In rejecting the Philippines' appeal, the ICC Appeals Chamber said the government failed to explain the Court's lack of jurisdiction or to provide an explanation of the implications and scope of the investigation.

It also said that the local investigation can proceed even with the ongoing ICC investigation. — BM, GMA Integrated News