Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla criticized Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, saying it is ironic that the former top cop who once enforced the law now appears to be evading it amid the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Imagine that — he was once the chief of the PNP, and now he’s running from the law. Isn’t he ashamed?” Remulla said in a radio interview on Saturday, May 23.
He added that ordinary citizens would find it disgraceful that someone who used to uphold the law is now seemingly fleeing from it.
Remulla urged Dela Rosa to stop running and face the accusations against him, stressing that the public elected him to confront problems, not escape them.
“Don’t run away. Face it! The people put you there to deal with problems, not to avoid them. If you’re going to run away, then you shouldn’t have gone to the Senate in the first place,” he said.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently ordered all law enforcement agencies, including the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to implement the ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa over crimes against humanity linked to the previous administration’s bloody drug war.
DOJ Secretary Fredderick Vida issued the directive after the Supreme Court denied Dela Rosa’s plea to intervene in the warrant’s implementation.
Dela Rosa, who previously sought protective custody in the Senate after allegedly being pursued by NBI agents, left the Senate complex on May 14 following confusion and gunfire between Senate security personnel and NBI agents.
The ICC Prosecutor confirmed that the arrest warrant was issued under seal on Nov. 6, 2025, and has since been conveyed to Philippine authorities. (Jel Santos)
