MANILA, Philippines – Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has called on President Donald Trump to sanction the Filipinos who assisted in turning over former president Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC), becoming among the first officials in the world to propose real-world implementation of an executive order that the US leader had issued in February.
“It is a moral obligation of the committee to share our findings…to President Donald Trump para kung sino mang may-ari ng Gulfstream na ito na eroplano, kung may ari-arian siya sa Amerika eh covered siya sa executive order na pinirmahan ni President Trump,” said architect of Duterte’s drug war at a Senate hearing on Duterte’s ICC arrest on Thursday, April 3.
It is a moral obligation of the committee to share our findings to President Donald Trump so that whoever owns this Gulfstream plane, if they have assets in America, they are covered by the executive order signed by President Trump),”
It was Dela Rosa’s first appearance at a Senate hearing since Duterte’s arrest on March 11.
Dela Rosa has been repeatedly mentioned in the different reports of the ICC prosecution, which accuses Duterte of being a co-perpetrator of a state-sanctioned policy of killing. Many believe that Dela Rosa, who was not only named in an affidavit as being a Davao Death Squad (DDS) member but also the Philippine police chief during the drug war, is next on the warrants list.
The US Congress has not yet passed legislation that would sanction ICC officials, but Trump in February signed an executive order with the same effect. Motivated by wanting to protect US ally Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose arrest the ICC had ordered over the killings in Gaza, Trump’s order are sweeping sanctions against people who will help the ICC.
Officially, this is the wording of the order: “The United States unequivocally opposes and expects our allies to oppose any ICC actions against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the United States that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction.”
The wording is so vague that international human rights lawyers fear it could cover someone as remote as a Filipino, because we are a major US ally, and we are no longer members of the ICC. The feared effects would be travel prohibitions, funding cuts from the US, or freezing of US assets. That’s exactly what Dela Rosa wants to happen, setting his sights initially on the owners of the chartered plane that flew Duterte to The Hague.
“Sigurado ako kung may-ari ka ng eroplano, mayroon kang ari-arian sa Amerika, kaya prepare for the repercussions of your actions, dahil very clear ‘yan sa executive order na in-issue ni President Trump,” said Dela Rosa.
(I am sure that if you own a plane, then you own assets in America, so prepare for the repercussions of your actions, because that’s very clear in President Trump’s executive order.)
Asked if he has actually talked to an US official to pursue the sanctions, Dela Rosa said, “Secret.”
Dela Rosa does not have a valid US visa, he confirmed on Thursday, himself also sanctioned supposedly under America’s policy to protect human rights all over the world. His US visa was canceled in 2020 under the Joe Biden government supposedly because of his role in the drug war, and Duterte unilaterally revoked the decades-old Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the Americans because of it. Duterte later backtracked on this decision.
Who owns the plane?
The plane, a Gulfstream G550 with tail number RP-C5219, is on a multi-year lease to the Office of the President, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla earlier told Rappler.
Senator Imee Marcos, who led the Senate inquiry into Duterte’s ICC arrest, on Thursday sought to trace the owners of the plane but she did not get too far because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said they did not get an advanced request on the companies.
Still, the senator named several companies citing different media reports, including Pacific Asian Pearl Airways, Pacific Pearl Airways, and a Challenger Aero Corporation. The President’s sister did not definitively establish the ownership.
Focusing on Challenger Aero, Marcos said: “Wala tayong tao rito na magsasabi, wala tayong testigo, naobliga kami maghanap at may nagpadala nito na sa San Miguel daw ito.” (We have no one here to say it, we have no witness, so we were obliged to find proof and someone told us this is owned by San Miguel.)
She was referring to the Ramon Ang-led San Miguel Corporation, a company close to their family as it was once led by the late Danding Cojuangco, a crony of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
The senator held a hearing on Thursday to an empty room, because the members of the Marcos Cabinet did not attend, citing executive privilege.
“Magalit na kayo sa akin, pero hindi ba kaduwagan ang hindi sumagot? Naging duwag na nga ba ang mga Pilipino? Hindi ako papayag (You can get mad at me, but isn’t it cowardice not to answer? Have Filipinos become cowards? I will not allow it),” said Senator Marcos, who added that she would ask the Senate to approve subpoenas for executive officials to summon them to the next hearing. – Rappler.com