In an interview with DZBB aired early on Thursday, dela Rosa said he will „exhaust all available remedies“ to block his transfer to the ICC and having learned about conditions Duterte was being held under, he was no longer willing to fight his case in The Hague.
It was unclear when the interview was conducted. Dela Rosa has denied involvement in illegal killings.
„Yes, things changed. It turns out it is not that easy to visit him,“ he said of Duterte. „If we were co-detainees there’s no assurance we would be placed in the same cell or even in the same facility.“
Marcos vowed late on Wednesday to get to the bottom of the incident, as political tensions mounted over dela Rosa and Monday’s impeachment of the former president’s daughter Vice President Sara Duterte.
„EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION“
Sara Duterte, who is in The Hague visiting her father, was the running mate of Marcos, but their alliance broke down and she is now fighting for her political survival, facing an impeachment trial in the Senate that could derail her run for the next presidency in 2028.
„What we are seeing now is the administration using all government resources to demolish political opposition or individuals who do not follow, agree with, or support (Marcos),“ she said in comments shared by her office.
She said she had not spoken with dela Rosa since before the gunfire incident and said he was about to be the subject of extraordinary rendition, likening it to what she called her father’s illegal abduction and transfer to the ICC last year.
„That is how the world saw it then. And that is also what they are trying to do now to Senator Bato dela Rosa,“ she said.