“WIN or lose,” he said he would visit Rodrigo Duterte in The Netherlands.
That was Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa speaking.
It was just one of his rollercoaster dips of emotions.
Here, he spat out yet another bluster that followed his callout to US President Donald Trump whom he wanted to meddle in Duterte’s ICC cases of crimes against humanity.
Bato was in high spirits when he made his latest statement, emboldened perhaps by the Senate probe on Duterte’s arrest being led by Senator Imee Marcos.
Imee is the president’s sister who panders to the DDS community for the votes she needs to stay in the Senate.
Yet Bato seems shaken at the thought of an ICC arrest through the Interpol perhaps– and very soon perhaps– like it did just last month when the Interpol nabbed Duterte at the airport upon his arrival from a political sojourn in Hong Kong.
Bato’s target was the “enablers” of that arrest.
First on his list is the owner of the plane that brought Duterte to The Netherlands.
Bato wants Trump to sanction its owner on the basis of his recent order against American cooperation with the ICC, which not a few view as a way to extricate himself from future possible cases. It would be the same plane that would bring the embattled senator to The Hague.
Grounding it now would mean his safety.
Bato had ensured he would be safe here.
Remember that he had refused to join Duterte in Hong Kong after he got word of his arrest upon his return.
That Hong Kong trip was very important not only for Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara, but for all the members of the PDP-Laban’s senatorial lineup.
That roster includes Bato and Senator Bong Go, the elder Duterte’s very loyal servant.
The Dutertes’ HK trip had given Bato strong, extra heartbeats that he had asked for protection from Senate President Francis Escudero, pleading to shield him from any potential arrest.
That he was unsure of senate protection had compelled Bato to go into hiding– a spectacle he announced, himself.
Then, Imee’s probe made him surface.
Now, he is talking about plans to obtain a Schengen visa.
About a reunion with Duterte, his boss. About the possibility of arrest and detention once he sets foot at The Netherlands. “It’s OK if they detain me there,” said Bato. “I will wear a wig in The Hague so I won’t be recognized,” said Bato again.
Bato was “The Rock” of Duterte’s war on drugs. Bato does not deny it. Bato is a brave man, of course. Bato would not crumble in the face of the ICC, of course.
