Palace: P50M bounty vs Dela Rosa not from Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not order the P50-million bounty for the arrest of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, which the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) issued under their mandates, the Palace said Monday.

According to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and the PNP leadership are responsible for the operation.

READ: PNP to Sen. Bato dela Rosa: You have one week to surrender

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The reward, she added, would come from the confidential and intelligence funds of the DILG and PNP, which she explained are reserved precisely for this type of operation.

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“This is not the kind of 11 days where intel funds or confi funds are exhausted… this is a real operation and not planting banana chips,” Castro said in an interview on Radyo Pilipinas Cagayan de Oro.

“It’s not like the president will specifically mention giving him a P50-million bounty. That won’t come from the president himself because this is a strategy, an operation by Secretary Jonvic Remulla and the PNP leadership,” she added.

Asked what would happen if dela Rosa failed to surrender within the one-week deadline given to him, Castro said the operation would simply continue.

“As Secretary Jonvic said, no mercy. The law must be enforced; those who need to be arrested must be arrested,” she added.

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Castro also addressed dela Rosa’s net worth, saying it was up to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to investigate whether it included anomalous assets and, if so, freeze them.

“On our part, we don’t have a categorical answer regarding that; it’s up to the AMLC,” she added.

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Dela Rosa has been absent from the Senate since November 2025, when he first disappeared following reports of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Dela Rosa was named as a co-perpetrator in the crimes against humanity case against former President Rodrigo Duterte in connection with his war on drugs.

The lawmaker resurfaced at the Senate on May 11, the same day the ICC arrest warrant against him was confirmed.

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He has been in hiding since he escaped the Senate premises with the alleged help of fellow Sen. Robinhood Padilla. /mcm