The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it will follow the directive of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce the arrest warrant against Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla made the statement after Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to implement the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Dela Rosa.
The DOJ order came after the Supreme Court denied Dela Rosa’s bid to stop the enforcement of the ICC warrant.
Remulla said the DILG would defer to the DOJ on the matter.
“We will follow the lead of the DOJ,” Remulla said.
Asked whether he would revive the previously announced 10,000-member task force for dragnet operations against Dela Rosa, Remulla replied, “225,000,” referring to the entire strength of the PNP that could be mobilized to locate the senator.
Dela Rosa is wanted by the ICC over crimes against humanity charges linked to the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign. Human rights groups have estimated that the drug war left as many as 30,000 people dead.
Dela Rosa served as PNP chief from 2016 to 2018 during the Duterte administration.
Before the ICC publicly confirmed the warrant against Dela Rosa on May 11, Remulla had announced the creation of a 10,000-member task force to search for the senator amid speculation over the arrest order.
The task force was later dissolved and replaced by a subpoena issued by the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group against Dela Rosa.