Marcos orders lawful, non-violent arrest of Bato

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has ordered a lawful, non-violent arrest of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa after the government put up a P50 million bounty and gave the fugitive lawmaker one week to surrender, a Palace official said yesterday.

“There should be no time wasted in enforcing the law. The police should act quickly and aggressively. That is the President’s order. Enforce the law and arrest those who need to be arrested,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said yesterday. But the President, Castro added, stressed that no lives should be lost in the process.

“No one must die in the arrest of Senator Bato but they should not resist because our police force will not back down,” Castro added.

“Time is of the essence so we must act faster. The President supports the steps of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government), DOJ (Department of Justice) and law enforcers).”

Castro issued the statement following the Senate minority bloc’s appeal to the President and concerned agencies to work with Dela Rosa’s counsel “toward a peaceful resolution” of the situation.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said It is better for Dela Rosa to surrender instead of playing a cat-and-mouse game with authorities.

Remulla issued the statement after the senator’s lawyer expressed concern over his client’s safety and questioned the legality of the government bounty for Dela Rosa’s arrest.

Dela Rosa’s counsel, Israelito Torreon, criticized Remulla for putting the senator’s life in danger, saying a bounty without a warrant from a local court does not promote law enforcement but “invites people to take the law into their own hands.”

Remulla said the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol has issued a red notice alert for Dela Rosa, who has a standing arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a co-conspirator of former president Rodrigo Duterte in his war on drugs.

Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC in The Hague.

“He (Dela Rosa) has a valid red notice from the Interpol. We will arrest him and accord him all what is due under the law,” Remulla said in a Viber message.

Torreon insisted that the bounty is invalid as there is no warrant issued by local courts for the senator’s arrest.

Remulla brushed aside Torreon’s statement and maintained that manhunt operations to arrest Dela Rosa will not stop. “It is best he surrender,” Remulla said.

Remulla described Dela Rosa, former chief of the Philippine National Police, as armed and dangerous, with a dedicated PNP task force sent out to locate and arrest him.

Warning vs ‘coddlers’

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. gave Dela Rosa one week to surrender and warned his coddlers they will face criminal cases for providing refuge to the senator.

The Senate minority bloc took the cudgels for Dela Rosa, defending his right to due process after the government put a bounty on his head.

In a statement released by the office of Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, the 10-member bloc defended Dela Rosa’s right to answer the charges before a domestic court and not before the ICC.

“We understand the government’s desire to resolve this situation in the interest of law and order. We believe a peaceful resolution that respects our laws and protects lives remains possible,” the minority bloc said.

“The Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of the Philippine National Police have duties to fulfill. We respect those responsibilities and share their desire to bring this matter to a lawful conclusion. We offer our cooperation toward achieving that goal peacefully,” they added. — Emmanuel Tupas, Marc Jayson Cayabyab