MANILA — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday announced it is offering a P50 million reward to anyone who can provide information that could lead to the arrest of Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who is the subject of an International Criminal Court warrant.
DILG secretary Jonvic Remulla said he now considers Dela Rosa “armed and dangerous.”
“As of today, Senator Bato will be considered armed and dangerous. We are placing a bounty of P50 million for his capture,” Remulla said in a press conference.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) gave Dela Rosa one week to surrender to authorities.
“We have given [Dela Rosa] all the courtesy that could be afforded as a senator of the Republic of the Philippines. But he has shown nothing but cowardice by remaining in hiding… Sen. Bato mistook my negotiation as a sign of weakness…It’s time to bring justice to his victims,” Remulla said.
Dela Rosa has been in hiding since leaving the Senate in May, when authorities sought to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the ICC over his alleged role in killings during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
The ICC unsealed the warrant on May 11, saying there were reasonable grounds to believe Dela Rosa was responsible for the crime against humanity of murder in connection with the anti-drug campaign.
Malacañang on Wednesday urged Dela Rosa to surrender to avoid bloodshed.
The call followed Remulla’s statement that an attempt to arrest Dela Rosa could result in 10,000 deaths.
Remulla said he received information two months ago that the senator, who was last monitored in Mindanao, was being protected by an armed group.
“Just surrender so that no more blood will be shed. At the same time, we know that the law must prevail over those who are harboring them. So, do not serve as an instrument for people who should be held accountable under the law,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said at a briefing.
“Do not serve as a bridge for people who should be held accountable to escape those they allegedly victimized,” she added.
Castro also described the alleged protection of Dela Rosa by an armed group as a “national threat” but declined to disclose details of the operations to arrest the senator.
“These kinds of groups…[are] the ones undermining institutions and obstructing the enforcement of the law,” she said.
“Is this an associate of Senator Bato dela Rosa? Shouldn’t we also find out what kind of group this is so that its members can be held accountable for their abuses? Is this the situation we want after the president’s term ends, where individuals who could potentially face legal charges are instead sheltered by organizations or groups that appear accustomed to violence?” she asked.
Dela Rosa escaped before dawn in May from the Senate, where he had been given safe refuge after agents from the National Bureau of Investigation tried to arrest him on a warrant from the ICC.
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He fled in a vehicle belonging to Sen. Robin Padilla around 2:30 a.m., hours after a standoff and shooting involving law enforcement and Senate security. (ABS-CBN, Philippine Daily Inquirer)
