Lacson: Bato seeking refuge in Senate ‘debatable’

TRECE MARTIRES —For former Senator Panfilo Lacson, the option of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa to seek refuge in the Senate is debatable. 

The senatorial candidate, who is also a former Philippine National Police chief like Dela Rosa, pointed out that the legislative immunity under the constitution is “limited.” 

“Choice nya ‘yan pero to seek refuge sa Senado, mukhang debatable. Kasi nga sabi ko, limitado ‘yung legislative immunity ng members ng Congress. [Dapat] in session lang at tyaka less than six years penalty. At ito, international ang warrant kung sakaling lalabas ha,” Lacson told reporters in an ambush interview here. 

(That is his choice, but to seek refuge in the Senate appears to be debatable. Like what I mentioned, the legislative immunity for members of Congress is limited. Congress should be in session and the penalty for the case that a lawmaker is facing should be less than six years. Moreover, this is an international warrant in case it will be issued.)

Lacson, who went into hiding in 2010 over the Dacer-Corbito case which he believed to be politically motivated, said in jest that his advice for Dela Rosa is not to hide from authorities. 

“Huwag siyang magtago. Biro lang,” Lacson said. 

(He shouldn’t hide. Just joking.)

On a serious note, Lacson said it would be difficult for an individual to hide from authorities. 

“Call niya ‘yun…Mahirap kasi lumaki lang ang kulungan mo pero para ka ring nasa kulungan kasi hindi ka libreng gumala, ‘di ba?” Lacson said. 

(That is his call. It is hard to hide because it will only make your cell bigger but it would still feel like you are detained because you are not free to move around.)

While he made the remark, Lacson maintained that his move to hide from authorities was legal. 

“Ako, call ko ‘yun kasi ang pagtatago, trabaho ng law enforcer na maghanap. Eh hindi nila ako nakita. Problema nila ‘yun. Pero ako, ‘di ako lumabas dun sa criminal justice system natin,” Lacson said. 

“Why? Because napag-alaman ko nung araw… alam ko na may jurisprudence na kung saan we can still or I coud still file pleadings maski wala ako sa legal custody ng korte. Unlike before na kailangan magpakustodiya ka sa korte, maging physically available ka kung meron kang warrant of arrest. Yun ang aking in-invoke dahil ‘yan naman ay may basehan sa batas kaya di ako lumabag sa criminal justice system natin,” he explained. 

(That was my call. Because it is the job of the law enforcers to find someone who is hiding. They failed to do that in my case. So, that’s their problem. While I did that, I did not go beyond our criminal justice system. Why? Because I discovered during that time that there was a jurisprudence that allowed an accused to file pleadings even if I am not in the legal custody of the court, unlike before where physical attendance is required if you have a warrant of arrest. I invoked that because that is based on a law. That’s why I did not violate our criminal justice system.)

Dela Rosa earlier described himself as the number two accused in the ICC case related to the bloody drug war of the Duterte administration.

Dela Rosa recently said he is considering hiding and not surrendering in the event authorities implement a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him.

Earlier, the senator said he is willing to submit himself to authorities and join Duterte in the detention facility of the ICC in The Hague, Netherlands. 

Duterte is currently in ICC’s custody in The Hague, Netherlands after Philippine authorities served the warrant of arrest from the international tribunal.

In a press briefing late in the evening of March 11, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos said the arrest was done “because Interpol asked us to do it and we have commitments.”

During Duterte’s term in 2019, the Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute or the treaty that established the ICC, after the tribunal started a probe into his drug war

According to the arrest warrant, the ICC pre-trial chamber found reasonable grounds to believe he was "individually responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder" in connection with the killings blamed on his war on drugs.

It stated that the so-called Duterte Death Squad and Philippine law enforcement personnel under his leadership targeted persons allegedly involved in drug-related criminal activities.

Government records show that there were at least 6,200 drug suspects killed in police operations from June 2016 to November 2021, but several human rights groups have refuted this and said that the number may have reached as much as 30,000 due to unreported related killings.—LDF, GMA Integrated News