At A Glance
- The government may soon offer a bounty for any information leading to the arrest of Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa.
DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla (File photo)
The government may soon offer a bounty for any information leading to the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla disclosed this option on Friday, May 29, as the former police chief remains in hiding following a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Remulla directly appealed to the embattled lawmaker to give himself up to authorities.
“Please surrender. Gagalangin ka namin. Your rights will be observed. But, huwag na natin patagalin ito kasi baka umuwi pa ito sa hindi mo gusto (Please surrender. We will respect you. Your rights will be observed. But let’s not prolong this anymore because it might end in something you won’t like),” Remulla warned during an ambush interview at Camp Karingal in Quezon City.
“So mabuti na mag-surrender ka na (So it would be better if you surrender now). We will treat you as an officer and a gentleman and we will follow all due process para sa’yo (for you),” the DILG chief added.
Dela Rosa is wanted by the international tribunal for his alleged involvement in the bloody war on drugs during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
As Duterte’s first national police chief, Dela Rosa was the chief architect of "Operation Double Barrel," the controversial anti-drug campaign that resulted in thousands of deaths.
The senator briefly resurfaced at the Senate on May 11 but he went back into hiding after leaving the Senate premises in the early hours of May 14, frustrating law enforcement efforts to serve the international warrant.
The search has mobilized the entire national police force, though authorities admit they have yet to pinpoint the senator's exact location.
“We have 7,467 islands. We have 225,000 policemen. We are deploying all our resources para mahanap siya (to find him),” Remulla said, noting that the entire police force is continuously searching nationwide.
The DILG chief also asked the public for patience regarding the pace of the manhunt. He explained that intelligence gathering takes time, as nine out of ten leads often yield no results.
“You have to understand, hindi madali ito. We have 40,000-plus barangays to search,” Remulla said.