DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 26 May 2026) — Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida appealed to fugitive Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who has been evading arrest since authorities attempted to detain him on May 11, to respect the rule of law and surrender to authorities.
Vida told reporters during a press conference, streamed live via Rappler’s YouTube channel, that as an incumbent lawmaker and former chief of the Philippine National Police, Dela Rosa should uphold the rule of law.
“By refusing to surrender and disregarding the warrant, our fellow citizens are asking, ‘What is happening?’ As a fellow Filipino, I appeal to Senator Bato dela Rosa to heed the call of the rule of law. He knows that when an arrest warrant is issued, it must be served and obeyed,” he said.
The secretary also warned that those cooperating with Dela Rosa could face legal consequences under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1829, also known as “Obstruction of Justice” law, which penalizes concealing offenders, tampering with evidence, witness tampering, misleading authorities, and delaying legal process.
Government officials, he said, may face an accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office if found guilty.
Vida said a panel of prosecutors from the DOJ is looking into the circumstances surrounding Dela Rosa’s escape from the Senate premises at around 2:30 a.m. on May 14, just hours after the shooting incident occurred inside the building.
Dela Rosa had been placed under the Senate’s “protective custody,” preventing operatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from arresting him, until he reportedly slipped out of the building and hitched a ride in the vehicle of Senator Robin Padilla.
Dela Rosa has been named a co-perpetrator in the crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), in connection with the bloody campaign against illegal drugs in the previous Duterte administration.
On May 20, the Supreme Court En Banc denied Dela Rosa’s request for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or a status quo ante order to block authorities from arresting and turning him over to the ICC.
Vida said the panel is studying Padilla’s statements admitting to aiding Dela Rosa.
“He (Padilla) has already admitted so much. Our panel of prosecutors will study everything that, based on these admissions and these factual circumstances, can lead to the conclusion that he or a person is probably guilty of a particular crime,” he said.
The official added that he has also directed the issuance of a formal letter to Dela Rosa’s counsel, Jimmy Bondoc, “with respect to his public representation that he allegedly knows the whereabouts of Dela Rosa.”
“I have directed the issuance of a formal letter request asking him to provide the department with any information in his possession or available to him, regarding the whereabouts or information leading to the location of Senator Dela Rosa,” he said.
Vida stressed that the lawyer-client privilege does not exempt Bondoc from cooperating with authorities, maintaining that the privilege cannot be invoked to justify criminal acts such as “concealing offenders, misleading authorities, or delaying legal processes.”
According to Vida, there is no indication that Dela Rosa has left the country.
During the “Saturday News Forum,” National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Melvin Matibag acknowledged that with Dela Rosa’s background in law enforcement, authorities may find it difficult to locate him, but expressed confidence that he will eventually be arrested.
“It is one of the major concerns, because he came from law enforcement, so he knows how law enforcement officers behave, how they track and search. But eventually, the law will catch up with him, and the law enforcers will arrest him wherever he may be,” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
