Raffy Tulfo says ‘good luck’ to Bato dela Rosa after denial of TRO

Senator Raffy Tulfo wished his fellow colleague Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa “good luck” after the Supreme Court issued a decision that effectively denied his bid to stop the International Criminal Court (ICC) from arresting him. Tulfo said the SC Court’s decision also gives Malacañang the go-signal to carry out the arrest warrant of the ICC against Dela Rosa. “Dahil diyan sa decision ng Supreme Court, it just simply means na binibigyan ng kapangyarihan ang Executive Branch para i-implement ang ICC arrest warrant para kay (Sen.) Bato (Because of the Supreme Court decision, it just simply means that it is giving the Executive Branch the authority to implement the ICC arrest warant against Sen. Bato),” Tulfo told reporters in an interview. “Well, good luck kay (to) Sen. Bato,” Tulfo further said. Voting 9-5-1, the SC on Wednesday, denied a request from dela Rosa for temporary legal protection against the ICC. “The SC, in a vote of 9-5-1, denied the prayer for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or statuus quo ante order filed by Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa,” the SC said in a statement. The ruling, however, focuses only on dela Rosa’s request for an immediate relief against the implementation of the ICC warrant of arrest. The SC decision stated that the main issues by the parties in their pleadings and motions are yet to be resolved in the main case. Dela Rosa used to be under the Senate’s protective custody after newly-installed Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano granted the said motion raised by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta. But dela Rosa is no longer physically in the Senate after managing to slip out from the Upper Chamber’s premises last Wednesday, May 13 after a tense shooting incident. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), in a strongly worded comments submitted to the High Court, viewed Dela Rosa’s predawn “escape” not as an incidental event “but a deliberate act to evade his arrest by law enforcement authorities.” “Flight under these circumstances demonstrates a clear intent to evade arrest and prosecution,” the OSG said.