The country’s top police official has called on Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to submit to the legal process tied to an outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrant, invoking the senator’s decades in uniform as a basis for expecting compliance.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. made the appeal on Sunday, May 24, framing his message around institutional respect rather than confrontation.
“Senator Bato knows better than anyone the weight of the uniform and the oath our officers take to uphold the law. Just as our men and women in uniform honor his legacy as their former top cop, we ask that he honor their current duty by cooperating fully,” Nartatez said.
The general said police units across the country have been instructed to avoid unnecessary escalation if they encounter Dela Rosa, who has stayed out of public view in recent days. He described the PNP’s posture as one of restraint, driven in part by the institutional regard officers still have for their former chief.
“Our ranks maintain an institutional respect for Sen. Bato as our former head of the PNP and it is precisely that shared respect for the badge that guides our approach,” Nartatez said.
Despite an active manhunt, the PNP chief said there remained a realistic chance the situation could be resolved without incident.
No hold-departure order in place
The Bureau of Immigration confirmed that no hold-departure order has been issued against Dela Rosa. BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said only a lookout bulletin order — dated May 14 and issued by the Department of Justice — is currently in effect.
Under that bulletin, immigration officers encountering Dela Rosa at any port of entry or exit are required to coordinate with concerned government agencies for further action. Immigration records show no recent travel by the senator outside the Philippines.
The National Bureau of Investigation, for its part, has characterized Dela Rosa as “presumed armed and dangerous,” citing his law enforcement background and access to firearms — a description his legal team sharply disputed.
Lawyer rejects ‘armed and dangerous’ label
Dela Rosa’s counsel, Israelito Torreon, pushed back against NBI Director Melvin Matibag’s characterization of his client, calling it groundless.
“(This) does not contribute to an orderly and peaceful resolution of the legal issues at hand,” Torreon wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday, arguing the label lacked any factual basis.
Lacson weighs in on tactics and legal parallels
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, himself a former law enforcement official, offered pointed commentary on how agencies should approach the operation, telling radio dzBB that intelligence-gathering must drive the effort rather than personnel deployment.
“First of all, being formerly in law enforcement, (it was) intelligence for breakfast, intelligence for lunch, intelligence for dinner. Intelligence is the prime mover of any operation, whether law enforcement or military,” Lacson said.
He also questioned the NBI’s decision to assign female agents to serve the warrant on Dela Rosa, arguing the composition of an arrest team should match the physical profile of the subject.
“If the subject is male and muscular, you should also assign muscular guys to do the arrest,” he said.
Lacson additionally addressed comparisons some observers have drawn between his own past evasion of legal process and Dela Rosa’s current situation, firmly rejecting the equivalence. He argued his earlier actions fell within the bounds of the law under the Miranda v. Tuliao jurisprudence, which at the time permitted an accused to seek judicial relief without being in physical custody of the court.
That same legal provision, Lacson noted, is no longer available to Dela Rosa. A 2025 amendment to the ruling now restricts that option to a strict six-month window — a protection he said the senator cannot invoke in his current circumstances.
