THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is offering P50 million in exchange for information that would lead to the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.
In a press conference Friday, October 23, 2026, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the government had given dela Rosa all the courtesy that could be afforded to a lawmaker, but “he has shown nothing but cowardice by going into and remaining in hiding.”
Remulla earlier said they were in talks with the “powerful group” protecting dela Rosa.
He said the group had many armed men and that arresting dela Rosa could result in bloodshed.
“Senator Bato mistook my gesture of negotiation as a sign of weakness. Now the gloves have to come off. It is time to bring justice to his victims,” Remulla said.
“As of today, Senator Bato will be considered armed and dangerous. We are placing a bounty of P50 million for his capture,” he added.
Remulla said the funds would be sourced from the intelligence funds of the DILG and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
He said a task force headed by PNP Deputy Chief for Administration Police Lieutenant General Wilson Lopez had been formed with the sole objective of locating and arresting dela Rosa.
Meanwhile, PNP chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. gave dela Rosa a one-week ultimatum to turn himself in.
“We will continue our operation with or without ultimatum, with or without reward. Ang PNP ay nakahanda to implement whatever is to be implemented. That is our commitment,” Nartatez said.
Dela Rosa was identified as a co-perpetrator of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte in the alleged commission of the crime against humanity of murder in the country during the implementation of the drug war.
He was alleged to have committed the crime against humanity of murder between July 3, 2016, and the end of April 2018, when alleged criminals, particularly those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production, were executed.
The chamber cited dela Rosa’s positions in the national police agency, particularly as chief of the Davao region police office, head of the PNP Intelligence Group and, most notably, chief of the PNP and director general of the Bureau of Corrections.
After around six months of absence from the Senate amid reports that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had already issued an arrest warrant against him, dela Rosa showed up in the upper chamber on May 11, just in time for a coup that ousted Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
A commotion ensued upon dela Rosa’s arrival at the Senate as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) personnel allegedly prevented him from entering the hall, resulting in a chase on the staircase.
Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV also appeared at the Senate alongside NBI personnel with a supposed ICC warrant that no one was aware of at the time.
Amid the confusion, senators agreed to place dela Rosa under the chamber’s protective custody until he could exhaust all legal remedies to protect himself and until the institution could do the same.
It was only that evening, following dela Rosa’s return to the Senate, that the ICC confirmed the confidential issuance and unsealing of the arrest warrant against him.
After three days under protective custody at the Senate, dela Rosa left with Senator Robin Padilla during the wee hours of May 14, hours after a shooting incident at the Senate complex. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)