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Rainier Allan Ronda - The Philippine Star
May 25, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — As former head of the Philippine National Police, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa should respect the law, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said, as he appealed to the lawmaker’s sense of duty amid an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for his arrest.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said no hold-departure order has been issued against Dela Rosa.
“We are appealing to Senator Bato’s enduring sense of duty as a lifelong law enforcer to ensure this legal process is resolved with the utmost dignity,” Nartatez said yesterday.
He added that Dela Rosa, being a former police chief, fully understands the responsibilities carried by law enforcers.
“Sen. Bato knows better than anyone the weight of the uniform and the oath our officers take to uphold the law. Just as our men and women in uniform honor his legacy as their former top cop, we ask that he honor their current duty by cooperating fully,” he said.
In a statement, Nartatez said the PNP would continue to exercise restraint and professionalism in handling operations involving Dela Rosa, noting that police officers still hold deep respect for the senator because of his years of service in the organization.
“Our ranks maintain an institutional respect for Sen. Bato as our former head of the PNP and it is precisely that shared respect for the badge that guides our approach,” Nartatez said.
The PNP chief said police units nationwide have been directed to avoid unnecessary escalation should they encounter Dela Rosa, who has remained out of public view in recent days.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Dela Rosa is “presumed armed and dangerous” because of his law enforcement background and access to firearms.
Despite the ongoing manhunt, the PNP chief expressed confidence that the situation could still be resolved peacefully.
Lookout bulletin
Immigration records show that only an immigration lookout bulletin order dated May 14 has so far been issued by the Department of Justice against Dela Rosa.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said they were ordered “if (Dela Rosa is) encountered at any port of entry or exit, the immigration officer is mandated to coordinate with the concerned government agencies for their appropriate action.”
Dela Rosa has no record of any recent travel outside the country.
‘Prioritize intel work’
To successfully track down high-profile personalities like Dela Rosa, law enforcers must prioritize intelligence work over sheer manpower, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.
“First of all, being formerly in law enforcement, (it was) intelligence for breakfast, intelligence for lunch, intelligence for dinner. Intelligence is the prime mover of any operation, whether law enforcement or military,” Lacson told radio dzBB.
While throwing a challenge to law enforcement agencies to step up their game, Lacson said the NBI made an operational misstep when it deployed female agents to serve the warrant to Dela Rosa.
“If the subject is male and muscular, you should also assign muscular guys to do the arrest,” he said.
Lacson also took a swipe at legal practitioners drawing parallels between his time as a fugitive in the 2010s and Dela Rosa’s current evasion of an ICC arrest warrant.
Clarifying his past evasion as a “fugitive from injustice,” Lacson stressed he did not break the law.
He cited the Miranda v. Tuliao jurisprudence, which at the time allowed an accused to seek judicial relief without being in the court’s physical custody.
However, Lacson pointed out that Dela Rosa cannot rely on the same legal shield today, noting that the ruling was amended in late 2025 to strictly limit that option to a six-month period.
Bato lawyer cries foul
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa’s lawyer Israelito Torreon objected to NBI Director Melvin Matibag’s “armed and dangerous” description of his client, calling it “without factual basis.”
“(This) does not contribute to an orderly and peaceful resolution of the legal issues at hand,” he wrote on his Facebook page yesterday. — Evelyn Macairan, Neil Jayson Servallos, Ghio Ong
