Lacson prays for ‘peaceful’ arrest of dela Rosa

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he is praying and hoping that Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa’s arrest will be carried out “peacefully, without violence or tragedy,” stressing that he is still entitled to due process despite his faults.

Aside from being a colleague in the Senate, Lacson noted that Dela Rosa was his former subordinate in the Philippine National Police (PNP) and a fellow Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Cavalier.

“I sincerely hope and pray that should his arrest take place sooner or later, it will be carried out peacefully, without violence or tragedy,” Lacson said in a post on X on Sunday.

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“He has his faults, as we all do. But whatever accusations he faces, he is entitled to due process, a fundamental right guaranteed to every Filipino, and for that matter, to every human being,” he added.

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The government on Friday placed a P50-million bounty on Dela Rosa as the PNP gave its former chief one week to surrender and face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), alongside ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, for crimes against humanity in their war on drugs.

Dela Rosa has been in hiding since November 2025 after learning that an ICC warrant had been issued against him. He appeared in the Senate on May 11 to vote for Sen. Allan Peter Cayetano as Senate president and was given refuge there. He left days later following a shooting incident inside the Senate premises.

READ: Hunt for Bato dela Rosa sets 1-week ultimatum, P50-M bounty

Lacson, in an interview on radio dwIZ on Saturday, said he believes authorities have solid information about the whereabouts of the fugitive senator.

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“I would like to believe that they really have solid information on the location of Sen. Bato de la Rosa,” he said, referring to PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who made public statements about the manhunt.

However, Lacson questioned the need for the P50-million bounty if authorities already had reliable information about Dela Rosa’s whereabouts.

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He explained that rewards are commonly used to encourage people to provide information about wanted individuals, particularly when locating them poses risks or significant challenges, such as in manhunts for suspected terrorists.

Lacson also said he had no idea why authorities would describe Dela Rosa as “armed and dangerous.”

“As far as I know, Sen. Bato has already surrendered all his firearms. But, of course, those were his licensed firearms; we don’t know about the others,” he said.

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“But we’ll just leave it to the PNP because they know better. They have broader access to intelligence information,” Lacson added. /mcm