PNP organizes task groups
MANILA, Philippines — After the lapse of the one-week ultimatum for Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to surrender, the Philippine National Police has intensified manhunt operations, organizing PNP task groups in all 18 regions in the country with the sole purpose of locating and arresting the lawmaker.
PNP deputy chief for administration Lt. Gen. Wilson Lopez, the overall supervisor of the manhunt for Dela Rosa, said tracker teams from police regional offices have been mobilized to arrest the senator, who has a P50-million bounty for his capture.
“The PNP’s objective remains clear and that is to arrest Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, and we will make appropriate actions and legal actions to implement this one,” Lopez said in a news briefing at Camp Crame.
Even if Dela Rosa is a former PNP chief, Lopez said the entire police force would not waver in its mission to capture the senator.
“The PNP is determined to bring the matter to a lawful resolution,” Lopez said.
As they want to avoid bloodshed from a potential armed encounter with Dela Rosa or his alleged coddlers, Lopez appealed to the senator to surrender peacefully.
“If he is sincere in being a (former) father of the PNP, he will find ways to ensure no cop and no one from his side will be hurt,” Lopez said.
Dela Rosa went into hiding after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant of arrest against him as a co-perpetrator of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.
He resurfaced last May and delivered the 13th vote that installed Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president. He escaped following a shooting incident at the upper chamber and has not been seen since.
Citing intelligence reports, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Dela Rosa is hiding somewhere in Mindanao under the protection of a powerful armed group, information which Lopez said they are validating.
After opening hotline numbers, the PNP has been receiving calls from informants about Dela Rosa’s possible whereabouts.
Lopez said the information they are getting from the hotlines does not pinpoint Dela Rosa’s location solely in Mindanao, but other areas as well, the reason why all the calls are being validated.
To prevent Dela Rosa from escaping through the backdoor, Lopez said they have beefed up security measures at the country’s borders, particularly in Mindanao.
“All things are being taken care of, all possible areas and no stones (left) unturned in our operations,” he said.
Based on their coordination with the Bureau of Immigration, Lopez said Dela Rosa is still in the country.
With a large bounty on Dela Rosa’s head, Lopez believes the senator’s world is getting smaller as more people are joining efforts to find him.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police officers were instructed to exercise sound judgment to prevent an armed encounter in case Dela Rosa is located.
“I have directed all personnel to remain professional, respect human rights and exercise maximum restraint while carrying out their lawful duties,” he said in a statement.
Matibag: Full manhunt expected
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag said a full manhunt, including the establishment of checkpoints would be logical following the lapse of Dela Rosa’s deadline to surrender.
He said the bureau has maintained a search unit and a dedicated monitoring team since Dela Rosa went missing in May. NBI regional and district offices were also told to remain alert, particularly at exit points that the fugitive senator might use to bolt the country.
Matibag said they are coordinating with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the PNP, but are limiting information on a need-to-know basis.
‘Illegal orders’
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa’s counsel Israelito Torreon is hoping that police officers will not follow “illegal orders” in the conduct of manhunt operations against his client.
“I hope the PNP personnel would only follow lawful orders. If the order is doubtful, I hope they will act accordingly,” he told reporters in a phone interview yesterday.
Torreon said they looked up the website of the International Criminal Police Organization and found out that Dela Rosa does not have a red notice alert, which should be the basis for his arrest by Philippine authorities. — Mark Ernest Villeza