MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has been monitored in six different locations in the last three weeks, according to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
Dela Rosa has been absent from the Senate since Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla insisted on the existence of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against the senator in connection with the killing of thousands of Filipinos during President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
“We know where he is,” the interior secretary bared on an interview on GMA’s “Balitanghali” on Thursday. “I think we’ve monitored him in six different places in the last three weeks.”
“He’s just moving around his friends’ houses. He’s hiding. He’s just in their houses… When he’s moved around, they use various cars. He’s just moving around,” he added.
Remulla declined to specify the locations in which dela Rosa was monitored, citing confidentiality.
The interior secretary reiterated that neither the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Justice nor the Department of Foreign Affairs have received a formal ICC warrant against dela Rosa.
“To this date, he is not considered a fugitive. He is not a wanted man. So, we have to play it fair. We have to play it cool. Using extrajudicial means of prosecuting the law is no longer in style,” Remulla said.
Dela Rosa’s legal counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, has yet to respond to the Inquirer’s request for further comment.
However, Torreon previously maintained that dela Rosa was still in the country and merely waiting for the proper procedure on his supposed ICC arrest warrant before personally facing it. /das
