DILG mulls bounty for Bato’s arrest

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June 28, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — As Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa continues to evade authorities, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is studying whether to put up a bounty to help speed up the lawmaker’s arrest.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said putting up a bounty is among the options the DILG is looking into to fast-track efforts to arrest Dela Rosa who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

“I’ll discuss it with my team and we are always ready to do that,” Remulla said in an interview over ANC.

Remulla said they are studying if putting a bounty is effective, citing the case of gambling tycoon Charlie “Atong” Ang who remains at large despite the P20-million reward for his arrest.

Earlier, Remulla admitted that he was remiss in the attempt to arrest Dela Rosa at the Senate.

Dela Rosa, a former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has not been seen in public since he left the Senate complex on May 14, hours after a shooting incident in the building on May 13.

It later turned out that the incident, instigated by former Senate sergeant-at-arms Mao Aplasca, was not a shootout.

“That was the haze in the fog of war when everything was going on. I think we were remiss in that. I think the PNP should have taken more care than that, I should have given better instruction on what to do,” Remulla said.

Despite the setback, Remulla assured authorities remain on track in their efforts to capture Dela Rosa.