Malacañang on Wednesday dismissed online claims that Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had been arrested, describing it as a diversionary tactic of allies of Vice President Sara Duterte to draw public attention away from the Commission on Audit’s (CoA) findings on her confidential funds that were presented at the Senate impeachment trial.

The Palace statement came after lawyer Jimmy Bondoc posted a cryptic message on Facebook on Tuesday saying, “Bad news is coming. Pray that it is not true, for the good of the nation.”

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque later fueled the speculation by posting, “Meron nga daw na nag-hudas kay Bato” (Someone has reportedly betrayed Bato), prompting widespread rumors on social media that the senator had been arrested.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the posts were not true but appeared intended to divert public attention away from the impeachment proceedings.

“You’ll notice that the posts by Attorney Bondoc and Harry Roque about Senator Bato contained no details or context. Their timing appears intended to overshadow the CoA’s revelations about Vice President Duterte’s alleged spending of millions of pesos in confidential funds at the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education without supporting receipts,” Castro said.

“The motive behind this diversionary tactic by Vice President Sara’s allies is evident. The public should remain discerning and continue to rely on mainstream media for verified information,” she added.

“Before believing rumors, people should ask where the information came from and what motives those spreading it may have. We should continue to rely on established mainstream media, which verifies information before reporting it,” she said.

‘No truth’

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla likewise denied reports that Dela Rosa had been arrested.

“As of 6 p.m. last night (Tuesday), Senator Bato had not been arrested. There has been a lot of speculation that he had been taken into custody and was being flown to The Hague, but that is simply not true. We coordinated with the Department of Justice and all law enforcement agencies,” Remulla said.

He added the authorities continued to trace the senator’s whereabouts.

“Our tracker teams continue to monitor the Mindanao area,” Remulla said.

He assured the public the authorities would not conceal any arrest operations.

“We do not conduct secret operations that the public knows nothing about. We are transparent in what we do and will follow all proper procedures in accordance with the rule of law,” he said.

Remulla added that should Dela Rosa be arrested, authorities would follow all legal procedures before any extradition proceedings to The Hague, where he faces allegations before the International Criminal Court in connection with the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.

“He will be booked, presented before the court, and then the extradition process will proceed,” he said.

National Bureau of Investigation director Melvin Matibag likewise said the authorities continued to monitor several areas in their effort to find Dela Rosa.