Torreon law firm questions P50M reward for arrest of Bato dela Rosa

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The Law Firm of Torreon and Partners has questioned the basis of the P50-million reward the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has offered for the arrest of Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa, who has been in hiding since May after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him, has been deemed armed and dangerous, according to Interior Secretary Juanito Victor "Jonvic" Remulla.

“The only document the government has is a warrant from the International Criminal Court. That is a foreign tribunal under a treaty the Philippines withdrew from effective March 17, 2019. No Philippine judge has examined that warrant, adopted it, or issued one of his own,” the firm said on Facebook.

“A reward system built on Philippine warrants cannot be used for a person who has no Philippine warrant,” it added.

The law firm of Dela Rosa's counsel, Atty. Israel Torreon, said that the DILG would have to disclose several details when it offers a reward, including the offense, the issuing court, the criminal case number, the DILG memorandum circular number, and the reward amount.

Citing the Philippine National Police (PNP) Memorandum Circular No. 2011-001, the law firm said that the police must have an original or authenticated copy of the warrant.

The law firm also took issue with Dela Rosa’s labeling as “armed and dangerous”.

“No court has found that Senator Dela Rosa is armed and dangerous. The label came from a press briefing,” it said.

The law firm also said that since the P50 million came from the DILG’s intelligence funds, it needed to abide by Commission on Audit (COA) rules.

A joint circular from COA and various government agencies said that the operation needed to be approved by the head of the agency, supported by documents showing the activity’s success, and directly related to the agency’s confidential activities.

“These funds were appropriated for Philippine law enforcement, peace and order, and national security operations under Philippine law. They are not a blank check for enforcing a foreign court’s process that no Philippine judge has passed upon,” the firm stated.

It urged the government to identify a Philippine court that issued the warrant, the criminal case number, the DILG memorandum circular, and the legal basis for paying the reward. –NB, GMA News