Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday said they know where Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is, noting that authorities have monitored his movements in six different locations over the last three weeks.
Remulla, in a radio interview, said Dela Rosa has been moving around using different cars.
“We know where he is. 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 said.
Remulla, however, declined to specify the locations and reiterated that neither the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Justice, nor the Department of Foreign Affairs has received a formal International Criminal Court (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 has been absent from the Senate since Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla insisted on the existence of an ICC warrant against the senator in connection with the killing of thousands of Filipinos during President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
Dela Rosa’s legal counsel, Atty. Israelito Torreon, maintained that the senator is still in the country and merely waiting for the proper procedure regarding his supposed ICC arrest warrant.