Palace to Dela Rosa: Don’t set an example for fugitives

“Don’t be a role model for fugitives,’’ Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Tuesday as she urged Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to surrender and face charges for crimes against humanity before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The government has offered a P50-million bounty for the arrest of Dela Rosa, who had gone into hiding after eluding arrest in early May when he surfaced in the Senate to vote for Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

The former national police chief has been ordered arrested by the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands. He is among the personalities tagged as coperpetrators in the crimes against humanity case filed against former President Rodrigo Duterte before the court over his bloody drug war.

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“Since he also served as Philippine National Police chief, he should not set an example or serve as a role model for people who have arrest warrants against them and choose to go into hiding,” Castro said at a briefing in Cagayan de Oro City.

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“As a former member of the police force, he should be the first to respect and uphold the law, especially since he is a senator. He should not serve as a role model for other fugitives who might choose to hide, only to idolize him,’’ she added.

‘No mercy’

Even so, Castro said that the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police were standing by a “no mercy” approach in the manhunt for the fugitive senator, whom officials declared as “armed and dangerous.”

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he had received information two months ago that an armed group was protecting the senator. He earlier warned that an attempt to arrest Dela Rosa could result in as many as 10,000 deaths.

“We he’ve been talking for a year. Enough talk. Surrender or face the music,’’ Remulla said on Sunday, even as senators called for a safe, orderly and peaceful arrest amid concerns over possible violence.

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AFP offers help

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. gave Dela Rosa one week to surrender from Oct. 23, but so far, there were no feelers from his camp, which had objected to the P50-million bounty on the ground that it was not backed by an arrest warrant from the Philippine government.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is ready to assist police in the manhunt for Dela Rosa if requested, its spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said.

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“This is a law enforcement operation. So, the Philippine National Police is the front-line agency in this issue,” Padilla said at a briefing. “Nonetheless, your Armed Forces of the Philippines, if there is a request to our end, then we will respond to it.”

Padilla said the AFP had previously assisted law enforcement agencies in similar operations and was prepared to extend similar support if needed.

“So, whatever role the Armed Forces of the Philippines can play, we are very willing to assist—from intelligence gathering to operations that require the presence of the AFP,” she said.

Asked whether the military was aware of any armed group capable of mounting significant resistance to arresting forces, Padilla said: “There is no group that is capable of conducting large and major atrocities in our country.”

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As PNP chief from 2016 to 2018, Dela Rosa was the chief implementer of Duterte’s campaign against suspected drug peddlers and users. Former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s investigation estimated that 12,000 to 30,000 people were killed in the drug war. INQ