Families of drug war victims have urged the Senate not to block the arrest warrant against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa. In a statement, Rise Up for Life and for Rights representative Rubylin Litao said the Senate must respect the Philippine government's international obligations and allow the senator to be arrested and surrender to the ICC.
The group, which advocates justice for victims of extrajudicial killings (EJKs), said Dela Rosa, a co-perpetrator in crimes against humanity, should not be protected. A mother of drug war victims stated that like former President Rodrigo Duterte, Bato deserves to be imprisoned and held accountable. She emphasized his significant role in implementing the former president's bloody war on drugs.
The group has long awaited seeing Duterte and Bato together in ICC custody. They also expect that more individuals will be arrested and imprisoned.
