EDITORIAL— Surrender, or else what?

Only members of law enforcement and national security agencies are authorized to operate as armed groups in this country.

In some of the safest countries in Asia such as Singapore and Japan, police and military personnel must turn in their service firearms when off-duty; guns cannot be brought home.

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, a powerful armed group is reportedly harboring Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity related to the bloody crackdown on illegal drugs.

This is according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, whose department has jurisdiction over the Philippine National Police.

Outside the PNP, the Armed Force of the Philippines and other law enforcement and national security agencies, why is there a “powerful” armed group in this country that can afford to harbor a wanted man?

Remulla said he was negotiating with the armed group, which he did not identify, for Dela Rosa’s surrender. Negotiations are preferred, Remulla said, to prevent a bloodbath that could spark unrest similar to the five-month siege of Marawi in 2017 and potentially cause up to 10,000 deaths.

That must be one powerful armed group. Why is it allowed to operate in this country?

Dela Rosa himself has yet to surrender 91 of the 117 guns registered under his name. The PNP Firearms and Explosives Office has revoked his ownership licenses for the guns, so he can be arrested for illegal possession of firearms. Remulla has described Dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, as “armed and dangerous.”

Dela Rosa has been absent from the Senate since November. That’s one-third of the entire period of operation of the current Congress.

Last May, he popped up for a day to help replace Sen. Tito Sotto with Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president, and then left the premises by hitching a ride with Sen. Robinhood Padilla. It’s unclear how much of his monthly P300,000 in basic pay plus allowances and the bigger maintenance and other operating expenses he has received.

Yesterday, acknowledging public concerns over the law enforcement capability of the government, Remulla announced a P50-million bounty for Dela Rosa’s capture and gave the senator a week to turn himself in.

It was unclear what the government intended to do if Dela Rosa ignored what seemed like an ultimatum to surrender.

The government is going to look even weaker if that deadline lapses without the expected result.