- Senator’s wife makes urgent judicial appeal to block ICC ‘surrender’
THE WIFE of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa entered the political fray by appealing to Supreme Court justices to protect her husband from being whisked by government authorities to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Nancy Dela Rosa posted her statement on Facebook on Monday, May 25, on the heels of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC Trial Chamber III’s against the senator for his role in the deadly drug war launched by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In her open letter addressed directly to the country’s judges and legal institutions, she said that complying or surrendering a Filipino citizen to an international tribunal would be an admission of institutional weakness and a severe blow to national sovereignty.
“Granting the people in power permission to voluntarily surrender another Filipino is an admission that you are weak and incapable of handling this case,” Dela Rosa stated. “This is just another case sensationalized only by politics. Please do not waver or give in.”
Dela Rosa emphasized that the judiciary does not have the luxury of time for extended technical debates, claiming that political adversaries are actively closing in on her husband.
Drawing sharp contrasts between past and present administrations, she argued that while the older Duterte administration went to great lengths to bring overseas Filipinos home, the current political establishment is doing the exact opposite.
“If we must learn from the Duterte case, it is that we must not give up another Filipino,” she stressed. “Please do not give up your responsibility for our countrymen. Please fight for our sovereign rights.”
Framing the battle as both a personal struggle for her family and a legal fight for the nation, Dela Rosa rallied the public to amplify her message across digital platforms until it reached the highest offices of the judicial branch.
As of press time, representatives from the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice have not issued an official response to the statement.
