October 20, 2026 | 8:41am
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa reacts as he talks to the media before the start of a plenary session at the Senate of the Philippines in Pasay, Metro Manila on May 12, 2026.
AFP / Jam Sta Rosa
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said he regrets not arresting fugitive Sen. Bato dela Rosa when he had the chance in May this year.
In an ANC interview on Monday, October 19, Remulla said he regretted a past decision to honor a "gentleman's agreement" between him and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano that prevented Dela Rosa's arrest on Senate premises, admitting that trusting the arrangement was a mistake.
“I dropped the ball. I should have arrested him in the Senate. Except there was an agreement right back then,” Remulla said.
During the arrest of suspended Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on June 1, Remulla personally arrested the lawmaker over plunder charges.
Remulla recounted telling Cayetano that they had lost the privilege of law enforcement authorities not arresting a lawmaker while in Senate custody when they allowed Dela Rosa to escape.
The International Criminal Court publicly revealed the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa on May 11, amid his public appearance before the Senate after hiding for almost six months.
However, he escaped in the early morning of May 14, hours after the May 13 shooting incident in the Senate between personnel of the Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Dela Rosa escaped by riding in the van of Sen. Robin Padilla, who faces complaints of obstruction of justice before the Department of Justice for helping Dela Rosa escape the Senate premises.
When asked about Dela Rosa’s current whereabouts, Remulla said he was in Mindanao, being protected by a “powerful group” with which the government is currently negotiating for his turnover.
While Remulla maintained that the government can arrest the senator, launching a hard tactical operation is off the table due to the risk of casualties.
“We do not want a civil war to start because of our arrest of one man. We want to do it properly and we want to do it judiciously, and we want to do it cleanly,” Remulla said.
Dela Rosa is wanted by the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity of murder during former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.
According to the ICC, Dela Rosa is accused of involvement in the killing of at least 32 people, allegedly committed between July 2016 and April 2018.
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