Senator Panfilo Lacson urged law enforcement agencies to strengthen intelligence operations to locate Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, who is facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Ang payo ko sa law enforcement, galingan nila ang paghahanap. Nandiyan na, huhulihin pero hindi nahuli,” Lacson said in an interview.
The former Philippine National Police chief called on the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, and even the Armed Forces of the Philippines to improve their intelligence work in tracking down Dela Rosa.
Lacson also pointed to what he described as a tactical mistake in sending two female NBI agents to serve the warrant against Dela Rosa, which ultimately failed.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag earlier said Dela Rosa shoved two female agents who attempted to serve the ICC warrant before fleeing. Matibag denied Dela Rosa’s claim that he had been tackled, saying the agents were about three meters away and could not have physically harmed him.
Dela Rosa resurfaced on May 11 to participate in a vote on the change in Senate leadership before disappearing again from public view. He had been absent from the Senate for months amid reports of an impending arrest warrant.
Lacson made the remarks after Dela Rosa was classified by the NBI as “armed and dangerous,” a designation the bureau said is routinely applied as a precaution to individuals facing warrant service.
Matibag clarified that the label does not necessarily mean the subject is armed, but reflects standard operating procedures during warrant implementation.
“Yung ‘armed and dangerous’ ang sinasabi namin dito; lahat naman po ng target o sine-serve-an ng warrant, ang aming point of view, we will always be ready baka armado ang ating subject,” Matibag said.
Lacson, who previously supervised Dela Rosa during their time at the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force and later in the PNP, acknowledged the senator’s efforts to evade arrest.
“Bilang isang dating superior officer at directly nagtrabaho siya sa akin sa PAOCTF at sa pagiging chief PNP ako, galingan niyang magtago. Pero may advice din ako sa law enforcement, galingan niyong manghuli,” Lacson said.
“Naiintindihan ko ‘yung pinanggagalingan ni Senator Bato, kasi self-preservation ‘yan,” he added.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa over his alleged criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator alongside former president Rodrigo Duterte in crimes against humanity involving murder committed between July 2016 and April 2018 during the government’s anti-drug campaign.
Dela Rosa’s camp has maintained that while it acknowledges the existence of the ICC warrant, it does not consider it enforceable in the Philippines.
The ICC has listed Dela Rosa as “at large” on its website after unsealing the warrant. The tribunal noted his previous roles in the Davao Region police, as PNP chief, and later as director general of the Bureau of Corrections during the period covered by the allegations.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration said no hold departure order has been issued against Dela Rosa. The agency added that the senator remains covered only by an Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order and that there is no record of him leaving the country through official international ports.
