Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has advised fellow former police chief Ronald dela Rosa to stop hiding and report for duty as an elected senator. Lacson noted that the rumored International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Dela Rosa for crimes against humanity remains unproven. He should work to avoid wasting his votes on pending bills.
At the Kapihan sa Senado forum on Wednesday, Lacson emphasized that there is no official arrest warrant from the ICC against Dela Rosa, so he is not yet a 'wanted' person. "The problem with Senator Bato is we have no official warrant of arrest from the ICC. It doesn't make sense to me that he is hiding when he is not yet wanted," Lacson said. "If I were him, I will report for work. I don't have a warrant," he added.
Dela Rosa has not been seen in the Senate since November last year, after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla claimed there was an ICC arrest warrant against him for his role in former President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs. Duterte is detained at The Hague, Netherlands, pending trial for the alleged state policy of killing poor drug users and pushers.
Due to his absence, Dela Rosa failed to defend the 2026 budgets of national security agencies assigned to him and snubbed his duties as vice chair of the Senate finance committee and member of the bicameral conference committee that finalized the budget bill. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Dela Rosa is still in his Davao base, "just going around on a motorcycle."
"If there is no arrest warrant, he should come to work. His votes on Senate bills and resolutions are being wasted," Lacson stated. However, Lacson acknowledged he lacks the 'moral ascendancy' to advise Dela Rosa to surrender if a warrant exists, as he himself went into hiding in 2010 during the Arroyo administration over the politically motivated Dacer-Corbito double murder case.
"I cannot tell him to surrender. I have no moral ascendancy, because I myself have hidden," Lacson said. He added that hiding is difficult, based on his experience where he evaded capture.
Meanwhile, Sen. Robin Padilla defended Dela Rosa in a lengthy Facebook post, calling him a 'war veteran,' 'worker,' and 'man of action.' Padilla argued that Dela Rosa is not on vacation but facing 'persecution by a foreign power,' and his office continues to function through staff. "Why are you hot on the heels of Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa? His fighting stance as a policeman shows his professionalism wherever he is in the Philippines," Padilla said in Filipino.
