The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it has leads on the whereabouts of Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, who has gone into hiding following the issuance of a warrant of arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Department of Justice earlier confirmed the Philippines has officially received the ICC arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.
NBI director Melvin Matibag declined, however, to give further details about their leads.
“If there is any person who should be asked, it’s Senator Robin Padilla because he was the last person to be seen with Senator Dela Rosa,” Matibag said at the Manila City Hall Reporters’ Association forum at the Harbor View Restaurant in Manila.
Matibag said he asked Dela Rosa to give himself up, adding the senator who served as Philippine National Police chief during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte “should know what law enforcement is all about.”
He cited how former senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima submitted themselves to the law when they, too, had warrants of arrest issued against them when they were sitting senators.
Dela Rosa fled the Senate premises, along with Padilla, on May 14, just hours after a shooting incident at the legislative chamber the previous night.
Dela Rosa was placed under Senate’s protective custody when he showed up on May 11 after being absent for almost six months.
On its website, the ICC already listed Dela Rosa as a defendant “at large” for crimes against humanity in relation to the bloody war on drugs during the Duterte administration.
In February, Dela Rosa, Senator Bong Go, and six others were identified as “co-perpetrators” in the crimes against humanity trial of Duterte, documents released by ICC prosecutors showed.
Other individuals also identified as indirect co-perpetrators were former PNP officials Oscar Albayalde, Vicente Danao, Camilo Cascolan, and Isidro Lapeña, as well as former National Bureau of Investigation director Dante Gierran and former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre.
According to the ICC prosecution document, “Duterte and his co-perpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to “neutralize” alleged criminals in the Philippines (including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production) through violent crimes including murder).”
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018 as part of his “war on drugs.”
