THE Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has mobilized dedicated tracker teams, including Special Action Forces, to locate and arrest fugitive Sen. Ronald dela Rosa who now has a P50-million bounty and who has been given one week since Friday (Oct. 23) to surrender.
“The full force of the Philippine National Police is in play to bring the senator to the fold of the law,” Col. Allen Rae Co, PNP spokesman, said in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself ordered the intensified manhunt for the senator, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in the previous administration’s blood war on drugs.
The president, however, instructed law enforcers to avoid losing lives as much as possible.
Co said the one-week ultimatum for him to surrender is a “sign of goodwill” and reiterated that the PNP always prefers a peaceful resolution to the matter.
“We are giving the senator a chance to end this peacefully and with dignity,” Co said.
With the one-week deadline lapsing on Thursday (Oct. 29), Co said there still haven’t been any feelers on the part of dela Rosa, a former PNP chief.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla repeatedly said the senator is under the protection of a well-financed, heavily armed group in Mindanao that the government has been negotiating with for dela Rosa’s peaceful arrest.
While not going into details of the status of the communication, Remulla issued a fresh warning for dela Rosa to surrender or face an intensified manhunt.
The PNP said it is premature to tag the supposed group either as an extremist group or a private army but maintained that anyone proven to be harboring fugitives will be legally liable.
Bounty defended
The announcement of the P50-million bounty has drawn widespread criticism online from both supporters and critics of the administration.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon, dela Rosa’s counsel, questioned the legality of the bounty yet again, arguing that he has no existing local case and that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) own reward system, in fact, requires an active warrant from a Philippine court.
Deputy minority leader and Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima on Monday questioned the necessity of offering a P50-million bounty.
De Lima echoed concerns earlier raised by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
“I join Sen. Ping Lacson in raising the issue of the propriety or necessity of the P50-million bounty for the arrest of Senator Bato,” de Lima said.
“If the whereabouts are known, what then is the rationale for such a bounty?” she added.
But Co said the bounty is “just for additional information” since a person hiding is never static in one place.
Also, the International Criminal Court, which issued the warrant, is a competent court, Co said.
The PNP also welcomed the offering of the Senate minority to bridge communication between the dela Rosa’s camp and the government for a peaceful resolution on the matter.
Malacañang on Monday said the P50-million bounty will not come from the president’s confidential and intelligence funds.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the bounty will be sourced from the intelligence funds of the DILG and the PNP.
“If this is their method for utilizing their intel funds, it is appropriate as long as they can prove the operation they are conducting and it yields results,” she added.
“This is really where the confidential funds and intel funds given to the DILG-PNP are allocated because this is truly an operation, a real operation,” Castro said in Filipino.
She added, “So, just like what was mentioned, this isn’t the type where the intel funds or confidential funds are completely wiped out in just 11 days.”
“So, this is a real operation and not just planting banana chips,” Castro said, referring to allegations that emerged from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
Castro on Saturday said the bounty could have been avoided had dela Rosa not escaped with the help of minority senators and instead surrendered to Remulla in May.
In a statement, Castro said Marcos had directed law enforcement authorities to act swiftly in arresting the fugitive senator.
Remulla earlier warned of a possible “bloodbath” if dela Rosa resisted arrest.
