Senator Ping Lacson censured the National Bureau of Investigation over its plan to subpoena the wife of Senator Ronald dela Rosa in an effort to determine the latter’s whereabouts, deriding the move as lackadaisical and calling on the agency to scrap the scheme.

Lacson, who is also a former Philippine National Police chief like Dela Rosa, contended that resorting to such a plan only highlights the NBI’s weaknesses in manhunt operations despite the adequate intelligence funding allocated to the agency.

The NBI has a P3.8-billion allocation under this year’s budget, which is primarily used for surveillance, information gathering, and sensitive operations, among others.

“Please don’t do this. Aside from exposing your incompetence in intelligence work, harassing Senator de la Rosa’s wife to track him is unprofessional, ‘trabahong-tamad,’” Lacson wrote in a post on X on Saturday.

As a result, the lawmaker vowed to propose additional funding for the NBI during the 2027 budget deliberations to strengthen intelligence operations.

Lacson’s criticism followed the NBI’s announcement that it would issue a subpoena against Nancy Dela Rosa, compelling her to disclose any leads on her husband, who has gone into hiding to evade a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

This came despite Lacson and his allies in the Senate minority bloc urging Dela Rosa to surrender to local authorities while exhausting all legal remedies to stop his arrest.

Dela Rosa is facing allegations of crimes against humanity linked to the bloody war on drugs waged by former president Rodrigo Duterte, dating back to his tenure as mayor of Davao City.

Aside from Nancy, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the agency is also considering whether to subpoena Senator Robin Padilla, who reportedly escorted Dela Rosa as he “escaped” the Senate in the early hours of 14 May, shortly after tensions eased following a gunfire incident involving NBI agents and Senate security personnel.

Last week, the Department of Justice likewise required Dela Rosa’s lawyer, Jimmy Bondoc, to disclose any information regarding his client’s whereabouts, warning that lawyer-client privilege “does not excuse him” from cooperating with authorities and that he may be held liable for obstruction of justice.

The subpoena against Nancy stemmed from her text message to Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano stating that her husband likely “escaped” the Senate by taking advantage of the commotion caused by the shooting incident that occurred inside the institution, allegedly during the NBI’s second attempt to arrest the former police chief.

In the message, which was publicly disclosed by Cayetano during a press conference, Nancy allegedly informed the Senate leader that Dela Rosa fled while Senate sergeant-at-arms personnel and NBI operatives were exchanging fire on the second floor of the building. The incident occurred at around 7:30 p.m.

However, CCTV footage from the Senate showed that Dela Rosa left the premises, where he had sought refuge, at around 2:30 a.m., accompanied by Padilla.

Cayetano, quoting Nancy, said Dela Rosa was supposed to remain at the Senate pending the Supreme Court’s ruling on their petition for a temporary restraining order, which was recently denied.

Nancy visited Dela Rosa at his office on 13 May and left the Senate at 9 p.m., after receiving what she described as assurance from her husband that he would “stay put” despite the threat of arrest.

“I am sure that Ronald made his escape… It wasn't in the plan, but knowing him, I am sure that he took the opportunity when the chaos and firing were ongoing,” Nancy’s text message read.

As of Sunday, Dela Rosa remained at large, although authorities maintained that he is still in the Philippines as a nationwide manhunt continues.

The ICC warrant stems from Dela Rosa’s role as chief of the Davao police and later as PNP chief, both under Duterte’s administration. ICC records allege that Dela Rosa bears criminal responsibility for the killings of 32 individuals and identify him as Duterte’s “indirect co-perpetrator” in the crime against humanity of murder allegedly committed between November 2011 and March 2019.