The National Bureau of Investigation has urged Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to turn himself in voluntarily, with its director drawing on the senator’s own law enforcement background as grounds for cooperation.
NBI Director Atty. Melvin Matibag, speaking on Unang Balita, invoked dela Rosa’s past career in uniform when calling for a peaceful surrender. “Siya naman po nanggaling sa law enforcement. To avoid all these things, mas mabuti siguro na sumuko siya sa awtoridad para magawa natin ‘yung tamang proseso at hindi na rin nagkakagulo at marami pang nai-involve na mga tao,” Matibag said.
The director was reacting to dela Rosa’s earlier statement that he would not heed minority senators’ calls to surrender to authorities following the International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against him.
Matibag was unambiguous about the warrant’s status, describing it as live and enforceable — but said the agency had temporarily paused execution. “Du’n po sa ganang warrant, live po ‘yon. Buhay po ‘yung warrant pero sa ngayon po ang direction muna namin, temporarily we are not executing or enforcing the warrant of arrest,” he said.
He warned that continued defiance would inevitably trigger a pursuit. “Ngayon kung hindi siya susuko, mangyayari talaga ‘yan. Merong habulan na mangyayari pa rin lagi. Kasi ‘yun ang gawain ng law enforcement – to enforce the warrant of arrest. Otherwise kapag hindi natin nagagawa ‘yung ganyan nating mga tungkulin, there will be a breakdown of law and order,” Matibag said.
Dela Rosa has claimed he passed through checkpoints without disguise since November, when reports of an ICC arrest warrant first circulated. Matibag took a dim view of that account. “Pero tingnan niyo, ‘yung sinasabi niyang ganyan is parang panunuya pa sa ating law enforcement at saka sa law and order. Hindi magandang gawain ‘yan na parang prino-promote mo pa ngayon na labanan natin ‘yung ating law enforcement at gobyerno na rin because ‘yung police powers is one of the inherent powers of the government,” he said.
NBI agents attempted to serve the warrant when dela Rosa arrived at the Senate on Monday afternoon. The attempt failed after the senator ran toward the session hall and was placed under the protective custody of the Senate. As of Wednesday, the NBI had no agents deployed at the premises. “Sa ngayon wala kaming mga naka-deploy na ahente roon. Ang alam ko meron du’n mga PNP to maintain peace and order,” Matibag said.
The NBI chief clarified that his agency had coordinated with the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms before entering the Senate grounds. “Hindi naman kami makakapasok sa grounds ng Senate, sa premises ng Senate kung walang coordination sa security group ng Senado. So meron kaming koordinasyon na malinaw,” he said.
On the video circulating of the chase, Matibag said the individuals seen closest behind dela Rosa were the senator’s own staff — some of them carrying luggage, he noted, suggesting the senator had been prepared to camp out at the chamber. NBI agents, he said, were three to four meters behind.
Matibag disputed claims that his agents roughed up anyone during the attempt, but alleged dela Rosa himself had physically pushed a female NBI agent. “Ang hindi naipakita diyan yung tinackle ni Senator Bato yung aming babaeng ahente na kasama dun sa nag-e-enforce ng warrant eh… Tinackle niya. Tinulak niya. Eh malaki siya. Yun ang nangyari,” he said. He called for the full CCTV footage — from the moment dela Rosa entered the building to when he ran — to be released.
Regarding a Senate security staff member reported injured during the incident, Matibag said the individual was hurt not from a blow but from a fall on the stairs after NBI agents detained him for allegedly blocking their exit — which the director characterized as obstruction of justice and illegal detention. “Tapos napakawalan, tumakbo siya, nadapa eh. Ganu’n din ang nangyari diyan eh. ‘Yung kanyang injury hindi naman dahil sa suntok or anything kundi dahil sa pagkakadapa niya du’n sa steps sa hagdanan,” he said.
On questions about why no Interpol representative or local court was present during the Monday attempt, Matibag said the Rome Statute governs the process and that coordination with the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime was continuous throughout the operation — though he declined to share operational details publicly, citing the risk of compromising future enforcement efforts.
The NBI and the Senate are set to exchange formal communications regarding the bureau’s agents who were cited in contempt by the chamber following the Monday incident.
