The manhunt for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa intensified Wednesday as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed it is preparing subpoenas for individuals linked to the lawmaker following a raid on a Pampanga property connected to relatives of Senator Robinhood Padilla.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the agency is now moving beyond physical search operations and shifting focus toward people believed to have communicated with or assisted dela Rosa while he remains in hiding from an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant tied to the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign.
“The National Bureau of Investigation is preparing to invite the people who were last with, spoke to, or had contact with Senator Bato so they can shed light on the matter,” Matibag said.
“In the coming days, we will subpoena personalities who have had contact with him.”
The development came after joint operatives from the NBI and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) swooped down on a subdivision residence in Barangay Balibago, Angeles City, a property reportedly linked to an uncle of Padilla.
Intelligence reports identified the house as a possible safehouse for dela Rosa, who has been evading arrest since disappearing from the Senate complex earlier this month.
Matibag said. “There were really identified areas that, according to reports reaching us, were places where Senator Bato was supposedly staying.
“So we visited these areas to verify and validate the reports,” he added.
Although dela Rosa was not found during the operation, investigators said the raid strengthened evidence of connections between the senator and individuals allegedly helping him avoid capture.
“What we have established is that the places we went to were somehow connected to Senator Bato or had contact or a relationship with him,” Matibag added.
Investigators also traced vehicles linked to dela Rosa’s dramatic escape from the Senate on 14 May, days after he resurfaced briefly on 11 May to cast a key vote that installed Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President.
According to Matibag, one of the vehicles monitored during dela Rosa’s disappearance was spotted inside the Angeles subdivision.
Reports earlier indicated the former police chief fled using Padilla’s vehicle after a shooting incident inside the Senate compound.
The CIDG has warned that individuals found harboring the senator may face obstruction of justice charges, a warning Matibag reiterated.
“We know that aiding and abetting and harboring a fugitive from justice carry a corresponding penalty under our laws, and we will not hesitate to use it against anyone we find out is doing so,” he said.
Matibag also acknowledged that dela Rosa’s background as a longtime law enforcement official has complicated efforts to track him down.
“We know he is from law enforcement, so he knows how law enforcement will operate…That somehow probably adds to his capability to not be easily located,” Matibag said.
The NBI chief further disclosed that authorities had already initiated moves to cancel 118 firearms registered under dela Rosa’s name through the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office.
“It cannot be denied that he is armed and somehow we can say that he is dangerous because he's avoiding arrest,” Matibag said.
He went on. “What happened last May 11, where he ran and went into hiding, is an indication that he will not just easily let himself be caught.”