Malacañang warned Filipinos against believing unverified reports that Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has already been arrested, as it accused allies of Vice President Sara Duterte of using the issue to divert attention from allegations involving her confidential funds.

In a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 5, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro urged the public to scrutinize the source and motive behind reports circulating about Dela Rosa before accepting them as fact.

“Bago po ang ating mga kababayan maniwala sa mga usap-usapan, alamin natin yung source. Ano ang motibo ng mga nagpapakalat (Before our fellow Filipinos believe rumors, let us find out the source. What is the motive of those spreading them)?” she said.

“Dito po natin hahanggaan ang nasa kilalang mainstream media na hindi biased dahil bago magbalita ay inaalam ang katotohanan (This is where we should rely on established mainstream media that are not biased because they determine the truth before reporting),” she added.

The Palace Press Officer specifically questioned information being circulated by lawyer Jimmy Bondoc and former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque about Dela Rosa, saying their claims lacked context.

“Mapapansin na walang laman at walang konteksto ang pinapakalat nina Atty. Bondoc at Roque about Sen. Bato (It can be noticed that what Atty. Bondoc and Roque are spreading about Sen. Bato has no substance and no context),” Castro said.

She alleged that the timing was intended to draw attention away from the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Duterte, particularly allegations involving confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).

“‘Timing’ ang ginagawa nila… para matabunan ang mga naisiwalat ng COA patungkol sa mga walang resibo na paggasta ng milyong-milyong pisong confidential funds ni VP SARA sa OVP at DepEd (They are using ‘timing’… to cover up what the COA revealed regarding millions of pesos in confidential fund expenditures by VP Sara in the OVP and DepEd that had no receipts),” Castro said.

Duterte is currently on trial before the Senate sitting as an impeachment court, with Article I of the case focusing on the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds—P500 million under the OVP and P112.5 million under DepEd, which she headed until 2024.

Among the issues cited in the impeachment case is the Commission on Audit’s (COA) disallowance of P73 million from the OVP’s P125-million confidential fund expenditure in December 2022 due to missing supporting documents. However, Duterte has said the OVP appealed the disallowance and submitted the required documents, with the matter still awaiting resolution by COA.

The impeachment complaints also raise questions about acknowledgment receipts and the identities of purported recipients of confidential funds, while Duterte has denied wrongdoing and challenged the allegations against her.

Castro maintained that the reports about Dela Rosa were part of a “diversionary tactic” by Duterte’s allies and urged the public to rely on verified reporting.

“Maging mapanuri… mainstream media pa rin ang unang dapat na pagtiwalaan sa mga beripikadong balita (Be discerning… mainstream media should still be the first to be trusted for verified news),” she said.

Dela Rosa, meanwhile, is wanted under an ICC arrest warrant made public in May over alleged crimes against humanity arising from killings during the Duterte administration’s anti-illegal drugs campaign, with ICC judges finding reasonable grounds to believe that the former Philippine National Police chief was involved as a co-perpetrator in killings allegedly committed from July 2016 to April 2018.

The Department of Justice has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police to enforce the warrant, while Dela Rosa’s whereabouts have remained unknown after he left the Senate in May following a brief appearance under the chamber’s protective custody.