The dragnet for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa widened dramatically on Wednesday as joint teams from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Philippine National Police (PNP) raided multiple suspected safehouses across Luzon as part of an intensified push to locate the lawmaker.
Authorities simultaneously tracked leads in Parañaque City, Bulacan, and Pampanga in a coordinated effort to corner the former Philippine National Police chief who is wanted under an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest order.
Dela Rosa’s whereabouts have remained unknown since he slipped out of Senate custody earlier this month.
“It won’t stop until we get him,” Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla declared as he confirmed the operations conducted by the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the NBI.
Among the sites searched was a property in Angeles City, Pampanga, reportedly owned by the uncle of Senator Robinhood Padilla, a close ally of dela Rosa. Intelligence reports had tagged the residence as a possible hideout for the embattled senator, who is facing an ICC arrest order linked to the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign.
The authorities also searched for a pickup truck allegedly used as a backup escape vehicle when Dela Rosa fled the Senate on 14 May while supposedly under protective custody.
CCTV footage previously showed Padilla accompanying dela Rosa as he exited the Senate complex, fueling suspicions that a network of allies may have helped facilitate his escape.
Despite the simultaneous raids, however, authorities failed to locate either the senator or the vehicles allegedly used during his disappearance.
Police and NBI operatives withheld the identity of Padilla’s uncle for security reasons, though officials said the individual serves as a Senate consultant.
The raids came amid mounting indications that investigators are now shifting focus from physical search operations to the people believed to have helped dela Rosa evade arrest.
Following the operations, the NBI announced plans to issue subpoenas to individuals identified as having communicated with or assisted the senator, possibly including Padilla and members of their security detail.
Investigators are now tracing dela Rosa’s movements and attempting to determine whether allies knowingly harbored or aided him while authorities moved to enforce the ICC warrant.
The CIDG earlier disclosed it already had an “idea” where the convoy carrying dela Rosa headed after leaving the Senate compound, suggesting authorities may be narrowing in on his support network.
As the manhunt intensified, the PNP also moved to dispel concerns that officers might go easy on dela Rosa because of his status as a former police chief and one of the architects of the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. stressed that no preferential treatment would be extended to the senator despite the institutional ties many officers still maintain with him.
“The Philippine National Police operates strictly on legal frameworks and our sworn oath to serve and protect, meaning no individual is above the law regardless of rank or title,” Nartatez said.
“While our ranks maintain an institutional respect for Senator Bato dela Rosa as a former PNP chief, we assure the public that there will be no special treatment,” he added.
Nartatez said commanders had already been instructed to strictly enforce standard operating procedures and prevent unauthorized disclosures that could compromise ongoing operations.
He also appealed directly to Dela Rosa to surrender peacefully and cooperate with authorities.
“We explicitly appeal to Senator Dela Rosa’s enduring sense of duty as a lifelong law enforcer to cooperate fully with the legal process,” he said.
The PNP chief acknowledged that the search for Dela Rosa has become a critical test for the police organization itself, which continues to face scrutiny over its role in the government’s anti-drug crackdown.
“The eyes of the nation are on us,” Nartatez said.
He went on. “The PNP will remain a professional, disciplined institution that honors the badge by executing its mandates with maximum restraint, strict adherence to human rights, and total accountability.”