Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa on Tuesday appealed to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. not to surrender him to the International Criminal Court (ICC), insisting that any accusations against him should instead be handled by Philippine courts.

Speaking emotionally before reporters at the Senate, Dela Rosa said he had been repeatedly appealing to Marcos following reports that an ICC arrest warrant had been issued against him over alleged killings in Davao Region during his years as Davao City police chief.

“Every… lahat ng gabi ko, nag-a-appeal ako sa kanya (Every night, I appeal to him),” he said.

Dela Rosa urged Marcos not to hand Filipinos over to foreign tribunals and maintained that he is willing to face allegations before local authorities after the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) issued a subpoena linked to a fact-finding investigation on alleged killings in Davao Region.

“As I have said, we will present ourselves dun sa kanila, pwedeng ako, pwedeng abogado ko (As I have said, we will present ourselves before them, it could be me or my lawyer),” he said.

“Sinasabi ko nga sa’yo, lahat lang kaya basta sa local lang, harapin natin ‘yan (As I’ve said, as long as it is local, we will face it).”

Dela Rosa denied allegations linking him to killings during his years in Davao City.

“Do you think may napatay akong tao sa EJK? Do you think mayroon ako inutusan na patayin mo ‘yan (Do you think I killed someone in the alleged killings? Do you think I ordered someone killed)?” he said.

The senator became emotional during the interview and described the controversy as “the lowest point” of his life while defending his years in public service.

Dela Rosa returned to the Senate on Monday after months of absence and was later placed under Senate protective custody following concerns raised by several senators over an alleged attempt to serve an ICC warrant within Senate premises. (PNA)