Bato’s wife defends fugitive senator: ‘He’s not an enemy’

Sen. Bato Dela Rosa and his wife, Nancy, at the Senate on July 22.

The Philippine STAR / Mong Pintolo

MANILA, Philippines — The wife of fugitive Sen. Bato Dela Rosa issued a public appeal defending her husband, urging his former political allies and powerful figures to stop using him for personal agendas and to end what she described as his "persecution."

In a Facebook post, Nancy Dela Rosa, Bato’s wife, said that he is not “their enemy nor the enemy of this state.”

“Thank you for helping me realize that there are millions who still believe and support him,” Nancy said.

“Please do not use him for your personal agenda. He has helped you in countless ways and he has done you no wrong personally. He needs your help, not your persecution,” she added.

On October 23, the government put a P50 million bounty on Dela Rosa, who has been in hiding since May this year due to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has also ordered Dela Rosa's arrest to be carried out nonviolently and lawfully.

Remulla said Dela Rosa was in Mindanao, being protected by a “powerful group” with which the government is currently negotiating for his turnover.

While Remulla maintained that the government can arrest the senator, launching a hard tactical operation is off the table due to the risk of casualties.

“We do not want a civil war to start because of our arrest of one man. We want to do it properly and we want to do it judiciously, and we want to do it cleanly,” Remulla said in an ANC interview on October 20.

The ICC unsealed an arrest warrant for Dela Rosa on May 11, ending his nearly six-month stint in hiding when he surfaced at the Senate.

Just days later, hours after a violent standoff on May 13 between Senate security and National Bureau of Investigation agents, Dela Rosa fled the premises early on May 14 aboard a van owned by Sen. Robin Padilla.