SEN. Ronald dela Rosa, the top police enforcer during president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, said on Wednesday that the P50-million bounty placed on his head put his life in “serious danger” and asked the Supreme Court to stop his arrest.
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have named dela Rosa as one of eight “co-perpetrators” in the drug crackdown that killed thousands of drug suspects and drug users during the Duterte presidency.
The former national police chief has been in hiding since May, when officers attempted to serve an ICC warrant charging him with the crime against humanity of murder.
Authorities designated him last week as an “armed and dangerous” fugitive, offered a P50-million reward for his capture, and formed a police task force to find and detain him.
“In law enforcement practice, the designation signals to operating units that armed resistance should be anticipated, which is precisely the setting in which lethal force is most likely to be used,” dela Rosa said in a Supreme Court filing that he posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
“Coupled with a bounty and a declaration abandoning restraint, the designation places petitioner dela Rosa’s right to life .... in present and serious danger,” the 64-year-old said.
He asked the Court to prevent law enforcement officers from arresting him and to block his surrender to the ICC.
Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla welcomed the court filing, calling it “his right as a Filipino citizen,” before accusing the former top policeman of employing a double standard.
“Sadly, he did not afford the same rights to the thousands killed in the drug war. They never had their day to prove their innocence nor be proven guilty. He was judge, jury and executioner,” Remulla said.
PNP appeal
A day before the one-week ultimatum on Thursday, Oct. 29, lapses, the Philippine National Police (PNP) made another appeal to dela Rosa to surrender.
“What we all want, especially the PNP, is for this matter to be resolved peacefully, with nobody hurt or worse, killed,” Col. Allen Rae Co, PNP spokesman, said in Filipino and English. “So we are appealing to the senator to surrender.”
While appealing for a peaceful arrest, the PNP said it is ready for an armed encounter given that dela Rosa is now considered “armed and dangerous,” and under the protection of a powerful and armed group in Mindanao.
Because of this, the PNP has already mobilized tracker teams, including Special Action Forces, to locate and arrest the fugitive senator.
National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag also said there is always a possibility of an encounter but said no stone will be left unturned until they find dela Rosa.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself has ordered an intensified manhunt for dela Rosa but specifically instructed law enforcement agents to avoid loss of lives as much as possible.
Bato hotline
Co said the PNP has also established hotlines for the people to contact should there be any information on the senator who now has a P50-million bounty on his head.
The hotlines include: (Globe) 0927-3073501, (Globe) 0995-512-2729, (Globe) 0945-611-5926, (Smart) 0999-361-9878 and (Smart) 0960-692-3025.
“We assure anybody who will be giving tips that their identities, numbers will be kept confidential so we cannot discuss the tips we receive,” Co said.
The PNP warned the public that prank callers will be held criminally liable, especially if the intention is only to sow chaos or flood authorities with false information.
“This is an official law enforcement resource, and you can be criminally charged if you mess with this,” Co said.
No surrender feelers
Despite the nearing lapse of the ultimatum, the senator’s camp also has not sent any surrender feelers to the PNP, or the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The senator’s camp, in fact, renewed his plea to the Supreme Court to block his possible arrest and surrender to the ICC, specifically citing the P50-million bounty and the government’s designation of him as “armed and dangerous” as a threat to his life.
Absentee senator
Dela Rosa had ceased attending Senate sessions months before the ICC unsealed a November 2025 arrest warrant against him in May.
He emerged from months of hiding on May 11 to take refuge inside the Senate building, but slipped out days later following a standoff between security guards and investigators attempting to arrest him during which shots were fired.
That same month, the Supreme Court rejected dela Rosa’s bid for a temporary restraining order to prevent his arrest.
It still has to rule on his petition to have the ICC arrest warrant against him declared illegal.
Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11 last year and handed over to the ICC the following day.
The 81-year-old will stand trial on Nov. 30 on charges of committing crimes against humanity during the crackdown on the drug trade.
Police have said they killed more than 6,000 drug suspects in self-defense during Duterte’s presidency from 2016 to 2022, but human rights groups put the death toll from Duterte’s drug war at between 12,000 and 30,000. WITH AFP
