Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa made his first public statement on Wednesday following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, which was carried out pursuant to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In a Facebook post, the known ally of the former President stated that if all legal remedies are exhausted and justice is still not served, he does not want his family to suffer from law enforcement officers "searching for a heartbeat."
"I am ready to join the old man hoping that they would allow me to take care of him," said Dela Rosa.
On Tuesday, Duterte was arrested at NAIA Terminal 3 upon his arrival in Manila from Hong Kong at 9:20 a.m. He was placed in government custody at Villamor Air Base, where he stayed prior to his flight.
Malacañang previously stated that hours before Duterte arrived in the country, Interpol Manila received an official copy of the ICC warrant. This prompted the Prosecutor General of the Department of Justice to execute the warrant.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. then confirmed that Duterte flew to The Hague in the Netherlands to stand trial for crimes against humanity related to the war on drugs carried out during his administration.
Serving as the Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) under Duterte's leadership, the former top cop-turned-Senator oversaw the controversial campaign against illegal drugs, which resulted in reported thousands of extrajudicial killings.
