ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Remulla tells Trillanes: No legal basis to arrest Bato

Remulla tells Trillanes: No legal basis to arrest Bato

Published Jan 27, 2026 01:45 pm
There is no legal basis for authorities to hunt down Senator Ronald “Bato’’ dela Rosa yet since no warrant of arrest has been issued against him, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic’’ Remulla asserted on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Remulla made the statement in response to the criticism of former senator Antonio Trillanes IV who was quoted saying that the DILG chief should focus more on operations to arrest wanted persons than press conferences and media interviews.
“Hindi ko maintindihan kay Sen. Trillanes, Hanapin daw namin si Bato. Anong hahanapin namin?. Alam namin nasa Davao siya pero wala naman WOA (warrant of arrest). So bakit namin hahanapin, bakit namin aarrestuhin. Kung gusto niya siya mag citizen arrest. Sabi niya kasi may warrant eh eh di siya  mag-arrest, siya magdala dito (I am puzzled by Senator Trillianes asking us to look for Bato. What will we look for? We know he is in Davao but there is no WOA. So why will we look for him, why will we arrest him? If he wishes, let him make the arrest. He said that there is a warrant, then go ahead make the arrest and bring him here),’’ Remulla insisted.
Remulla pointed out that Trillanes should look into the bigger picture and acknowledge the prominent personalities that have been arrested including former senator Bong Revilla.
“Andami na namin naaresto. Yung mga big fish isa si Sen. Bong voluntarily. Sana makita naman ni Sen. Trillanes na yung tamang ginawa namin sa lahat ng Sunwest (construction firm) na naaresto namin, lahat ng DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) lahat yan naaresto pero yung may mga pera madali magtago yan. Kung siya nga nagtago dati eh di ba, alam niya kung paano magtago (We have made lots of arrests. The big fish, one of them is Senator Bong who voluntarily surrendered. I hope Senator Trillianes acknowledges the right things we did, for all the Sunwest personnel we arrested, all the DPWH officials, we all arrested them but those who are affluent can easily hide. He knows how to evade arrest, since he hid before),’’ Remulla emphasized.
Earlier, the Sandiganbayan Third Division had ordered Revilla's temporary detention in the jail facility after the Ombudsman filed a malversation case against him and his co-accused over the ghost flood control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
Since he evaded arrest previously, Remulla asked Trillanes to just help them make the arrests and be part of the solution “if you think you have the solution.’’
Further, Remulla noted that they know dela Rosa is in Davao hiding in fear, going to his friends from one town to another on board a motorcycle.
“Magkapitbahay kami niyan sa Cavite sa Silang. Siguro 500 meters abandoned na yung bahay niya, wala na kotse wala na lahat. Ang alam namin lahat pamilya mga apo niya nasa Davao na. Paikot ikot lang siya nakamotor (We are neighbors in Cavite, in Silang. Around 500 meters away (dela Rosa's residence) from my place, his house has been abandoned, no more cars, everything is missing. We believe all of his family, grandchildren are already in Davao. He is just roaming around on board his motorcycle),’’ Remulla stated.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.