THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said the hunt continues for fugitive Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who has evaded arrest on charges of crimes against humanity for almost four months, but officials declined to offer any details on his whereabouts.
The police statement follows Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s claim that dela Rosa’s location was already known, and that they were “coordinating” with his supposed protectors.
“Again, operational details, cannot be publicly discussed as this will compromise our ongoing operations and could pose danger to the safety of everyone involved, not just our personnel but everyone involved,” Col. Allen Rae Co, PNP spokesman, told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Crame.
“What we can confirm is that our efforts are ongoing and relentless. We will not deviate, and we will not be disrupted from doing our duty,” Co said.
In an interview, Remulla said negotiations are under way with dela Rosa’s purported protectors.
“We know where he is, but there are negotiations now with his protectors, and I think we’ll get to him soon,” Remulla said in an interview on One News’ “Storycon” program on Tuesday.
Remulla did not go into details but said dela Rosa is protected by “very powerful people.” The PNP said dela Rosa is still in the country and that their efforts “will not wane” in bringing the senator to justice.
Remulla said the negotiation is being done because “we don’t want casualties involved. They have to surrender peacefully.” Nevertheless, he promised to use “all the levers of the government to get him out of hiding, using “all the economic and military levers that we have in order to force him out.”
Custody of 117 guns
The PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation have been searching for dela Rosa since May following the International Criminal Court’s release of his arrest warrant over his alleged involvement in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug war.
Since then, the PNP has been working on taking custody of the 117 firearms registered to dela Rosa.
At least 26 firearms had been surrendered by the senator’s camp since June.
The PNP Firearms and Explosives Office revoked dela Rosa’s firearms license and gun registrations soon after the warrant for his arrest was issued.
