The government is considering offering a bounty for information leading to the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, who remains in hiding after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant against him.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla disclosed the option on Friday, May 29, as authorities continue to struggle in locating the former police chief.
Remulla directly appealed to Dela Rosa to surrender, assuring him that his rights would be respected.
“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,” he said during an ambush interview at Camp Karingal in Quezon City.
The senator is wanted by the ICC for his alleged role in the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, having served as the chief architect of “Operation Double Barrel.”
Despite briefly resurfacing at the Senate earlier this month, Dela Rosa went back into hiding, frustrating law enforcement efforts.
Remulla admitted that the nationwide manhunt has yet to pinpoint his location, noting the difficulty of searching across 7,467 islands and 40,000 barangays.
“We are deploying all our resources to find him,” Remulla said, adding that intelligence gathering takes time and that most leads often yield no results.
With the possibility of a bounty now on the table, the government is signaling its determination to secure Dela Rosa’s arrest and enforce the ICC warrant. (Chito Chavez)
