NBI readies arrest of Bato dela Rosa; warns of possible ‘encounter’

MANILA, Philippines — National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag said on Monday that the bureau will arrest Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa with the least possible violence, noting that an “encounter” may happen in locating him.

In an interview, Matibag noted dela Rosa’s background as a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and someone from law enforcement service, saying that “he definitely has friends that will probably be helping him.”

He also pointed out that the senator had not surrendered all of his firearms.

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READ: Jonvic Remulla: Arresting Sen. dela Rosa could lead to 10,000 deaths

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“So the possibility of an encounter, nandodoon yan. Hindi naman po natin inaalis yan. Lahat naman po ng law enforcement, there’s a possibility of an encounter. Alam n’yo naman po yan,” Matibag said.

(So the possibility of an encounter is there. We are not eliminating it. All law enforcement, there’s a possibility of an encounter. You know that.)

“But as much as possible, we want to get him na yung pinaka-less na violence na may mangyayari,” he added.

(But as much as possible, we want to get him with the least violence that will happen.)

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According to Matibag, new information about dela Rosa’s possible locations was sent to the bureau following Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s announcement of a P50 million bounty for his capture.

READ: P50-M bounty for capture of ‘armed and dangerous’ Bato Dela Rosa – DILG

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He said the bureau will conduct operations in the coming days or a week “to remove the areas where he could be there, but not.”

“I just want to tell the public that when we do the enforcement, isipin ninyo baka sabihin nag-enforce doon tas walang nahuli. Talaga pong ganoon. Parte po ng law enforcement at paghahabol sa isang fugitive na kapag pinuntahan mo yung isang lugar maaring wala doon,” the NBI director said. 

(I just want to tell the public that when we do enforcement, imagine if we say we enforced there and no one was caught. That’s really the case. Part of law enforcement and chasing a fugitive is that when you go to a certain place, they might not be there.)

When asked about dela Rosa’s location, Matibag said “Basta’t nasa Pilipinas pa, yun yung mas malaking informasyon natin dito.”

(He’s in the Philippines, that’s the bigger information we have here.)

Meanwhile, Matibag said the bureau is not negotiating with an “armed group” that Remulla earlier named as supposedly protecting dela Rosa.

Authorities are currently tracking dela Rosa, who escaped the Senate building in the early hours of May 14, or only three days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) released the arrest warrant against him.

The arrest order is in connection with the government’s war against illegal drugs during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The senator is among the individuals tagged as co-perpetrators in the crimes against humanity case filed against Duterte before the ICC.

Dela Rosa served as the PNP chief from 2016 to 2018.

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Around 12,000 to 30,000 individuals were killed during the drug war, as per the investigation by then-ICC prosecutor Karim Khan. /mr