Bato dela Rosa's camp asks SC anew to issue TRO amid P50-M bounty

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Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s camp has asked the Supreme Court (SC) anew to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against his International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant, noting that the government has raised a P50-million reward for his arrest.

In a 15-page manifestation, Dela Rosa’s camp also asked the SC to resolve his pending motion for reconsideration on its denial of his prayer for interim relief in May.

“The motion for reconsideration remains unresolved. In the meantime, the enforcement posture it documented has not abated. It has escalated,” it said.

Dela Rosa’s camp noted that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has dubbed the senator as “armed and dangerous,” placed a P50 million reward for his arrest, declared that the “gloves come off,” and created a task force for his arrest, among others.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla bared the bounty last week, two days after he said Dela Rosa is under the protection of a group in Mindanao, with whom the government is initiating negotiations. He said an operation to get the former Philippine National Police chief could result in 10,000 deaths.

“Significantly, the bounty was announced by DILG Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla, who is himself a named Respondent in this case,” Dela Rosa’s camp said.

“A Respondent has thus, while this Honorable Court’s ruling on reconsideration is pending, placed a price on the capture of the very Petitioner whose constitutional challenge he is answering,” it added.

For its part, Malacañang has urged the senator to face his case before the ICC, saying he should not be afraid if his conscience is clear.

Authorities attempted to serve the warrant against Dela Rosa on May 11 while he was in the Senate. He was later placed under protective custody by the upper chamber.

He has not appeared on Senate premises since slipping out on May 14 after “hitching a ride" with Senator Robin Padilla. —AOL, GMA News