The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) called on Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to surrender and face allegations linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war campaign, even as authorities maintained he remains inside the country despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking during the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said a “dedicated” tracking team has been deployed after the Department of Justice (DOJ) ordered the agency and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enforce the ICC warrant against Dela Rosa.
“So he knows how the law enforcers behave and how he will be tracked and located so for me, eventually the law will catch up on you and the law enforcers will get you, wherever you are,” Matibag said.
He added that Dela Rosa’s experience as a former PNP chief remains a “major factor” complicating efforts to locate him.
The director mentioned that the senator appears “unwilling” to voluntarily surrender after reportedly disappearing from Senate custody earlier this month.
“But by the looks of it, it seems that he has no plans of surrendering because he was already at the Senate but he vanished,” he noted.
Moreover, the NBI chief stated that immigration records continue to show “no monitored outbound travel” involving Dela Rosa despite intensified coordination with the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“If you will look at the records, of course we are coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration and the point of entries we identified say that there are no records of his outbound travel,” he said.
Matibag acknowledged that some exit points remain difficult to monitor, allowing certain personalities to potentially leave the country undetected.
To recall, the ICC confirmed the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa on May 11, with Pre-Trial Chamber I saying it found “reasonable grounds” to believe he was responsible for crimes against humanity during the anti-drug campaign from July 2016 to April 2018.
The tribunal said at least 32 individuals were killed during the period covered by the allegations while Dela Rosa was serving as PNP chief.
The senator reportedly slipped out of Senate premises on May 14 after confusion erupted following reports of gunshots recorded inside the compound a day earlier.
Written by Ericko Malimban
Ericko Malimban is a dedicated campus journalist and contributor. Their insightful writing sparks meaningful conversations and keeps the community informed.
