Palace Says Bounty and Police Operations Are Shrinking Dela Rosa's Room to Evade Arrest
Key Takeaways
- •Malacañang said intensified police operations and a P50-million bounty have narrowed fugitive Senator Ronald dela Rosa's ability to evade arrest.
- •Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla gave dela Rosa one week to surrender, with the deadline set to expire on Friday.
- •Dela Rosa's camp asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to halt his arrest, arguing the bounty and his designation as armed and dangerous put his life at risk.
- •The senator is wanted under an International Criminal Court warrant for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the Duterte-era drug war, which he denies committing.
- •The ICC retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed before the Philippines' withdrawal from the Rome Statute took effect in March 2019, the legal basis for both dela Rosa's warrant and the case that led to Rodrigo Duterte's arrest and transfer to The Hague.
MALACAÑANG said on Thursday that intensified police operations and a P50-million bounty have narrowed the ability of fugitive Senator Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa to evade arrest.
“It is true that Senator Bato's world is shrinking because anyone who might spot him will immediately report information to the PNP (Philippine National Police) and other law enforcement agencies,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told a news briefing in Bukidnon.
“We likewise appeal to Senator dela Rosa to voluntarily surrender to the proper authorities and submit himself to the legal process with dignity,” she added, quoting the PNP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” C. Remulla earlier announced the reward and gave Mr. dela Rosa one week to surrender, a period set to expire on Friday. The expiry of that deadline makes the government's next step a near-term development to watch in the case.
On Tuesday, Mr. dela Rosa's camp asked the Supreme Court once again to halt his arrest and to act on a pending motion for reconsideration, arguing that the bounty and his designation as armed and dangerous place his life at risk. The Supreme Court's handling of that request is a second thread to follow, as it bears directly on whether the arrest can move forward.
Mr. dela Rosa is wanted under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes against humanity linked to the drug war of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, under whom he served as PNP chief from 2016 to 2018 and led the administration's flagship anti-drug campaign when it was launched. Mr. Duterte was arrested in Manila in March 2025 on an ICC warrant and flown to The Hague, where he faces a charge of murder as a crime against humanity. That arrest showed that ICC-ordered detentions have been carried out on Philippine soil even after the country left the court's founding treaty, the same legal backdrop now confronting Mr. dela Rosa.
The Philippines withdrew from the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC, effective March 2019, but the court maintains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while the country was still a member. That retained jurisdiction is the legal foundation for both the warrant pending against Mr. dela Rosa and the case that brought Mr. Duterte to The Hague.
Mr. dela Rosa has denied wrongdoing and has challenged the ICC's jurisdiction over him.
Source: BusinessWorld
