MANILA, Philippines —The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday clarified that they will not initiate any arrest of Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa even after reports that he had already left the Senate hours after the shooting.
On Thursday, reports that Dela Rosa had already fled the Senate surfaced after he holed up in the building since Monday to evade arrest following the warrant released by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
On Monday, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) operatives attempted to arrest the senator but it was former Sen. Antonio Trillanes, a staunch critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies who presented the ICC warrant confirmed by the tribunal shortly after.
The PNP however does not possess a copy of the ICC warrant which does not give them the authority to arrest Dela Rosa or even take his whereabouts under surveillance.
“Ang basehan supposedly ng pag aresto kay Sen. Bato ay yun pong ICC warrant na supposedly i-i-implement lang ‘pag pinatawag ‘yung apat na ahensya para iimplement ang nasabing warrant. Since hindi naman pinapatawag pa ang PNP, technically wala naman po tayong ICC warrant para hulihin si Sen. Bato,” PBGen Randulf T. Tuaño, Public Information chief, told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
(The basis for the arrest of Sen. Bato is the ICC warrant that can only be implemented once the law enforcement agencies concerned have convened to implement it. Since the PNP was not called for any convening, technically we do not have the ICC warrant to arrest Sen. Bato.)
Prior to Dela Rosa’s reported exit from the Senate, there have been rumors circulating about it supposedly as a diversionary tactic to allow the senator to escape.
Tuaño said PNP chief PGen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. had already instructed the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) to coordinate with the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms regarding the results of their meeting and “forthwith submit a special written report if indeed the claim was true or not.”
