DILG mulls bounty for Bato; NBI to subpoena Mrs. Dela Rosa

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will also subpoena the senator’s wife, Nancy dela Rosa, and other individuals—including senators—believed to have been with the fugitive lawmaker before he slipped out of Senate protective custody earlier this month.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the government is considering placing a bounty on Dela Rosa. He did not specify how much the reward would be for capturing the lawmaker.

“We are considering that,” Remulla told reporters. “But apparently, it is not effective yet. We will see what needs to be done.”

The DILG chief urged Dela Rosa to surrender peacefully, while assuring the public that the search operations continue and that the Philippine National Police (PNP)—which the senator once headed—remains professional in carrying out its duties.

Dela Rosa is wanted by the ICC for alleged crimes against humanity linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.

The warrant accuses the senator, who was PNP chief under Duterte, of “alleged criminal responsibility as an indirect co-perpetrator” in the killings of at least 32 persons between July 3, 2016 and the end of April 2018.

NBI Director Melvin Matibag said the bureau was preparing subpoenas for persons last seen with Dela Rosa before he left the Senate premises, three days after resurfacing following seven months in hiding.

“We will issue subpoenas to the people who were last with him. Of course, we are also contemplating issuing a subpoena to his wife,” Matibag said in a press briefing.

He cited statements made by Mrs. Dela Rosa in online reports indicating that the events of May 13 became the opportunity for the senator to evade arrest.

“We are preparing it today (Friday),” Matibag said when asked when the subpoenas would be issued.

Matibag maintained that Dela Rosa remains “a fugitive from justice.”

“We are still doing our best to locate him and effect the arrest,” he added.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said investigators examined the sequence of events from Dela Rosa’s sudden appearance in the Senate until his departure from the premises at around 2:30 a.m. on May 14.

“The records of investigation have already been forwarded to the Department of Justice. They are the prosecutors; we produce the evidence,” Nartatez said.

He said the investigation also covered senators and other individuals who may have helped Dela Rosa evade arrest.

“Yes, all of them,” Nartatez said when asked whether senators were included in the investigation. “They know the consequences, especially if they are coddling or helping a person with a warrant of arrest.”

Nartatez said authorities had submitted additional records and documents gathered during the continuing investigation to the DOJ.

The PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has since filed an obstruction of justice complaint before the DOJ against Padilla and several others in connection with Dela Rosa’s escape.

Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez confirmed the DOJ received the complaint Thursday afternoon.

“As with any complaint filed before the Department, the same will be evaluated in accordance with established procedures and applicable rules,” Martinez said.

“If the evidence warrants, the matter will be docketed for the conduct of a thorough preliminary investigation to determine whether prima facie evidence exists to charge the respondents in court,” he added.

Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon also confirmed the filing of the complaint.

The Senate was thrown into turmoil on May 11 when Dela Rosa, who had been in hiding since November 2025, resurfaced to cast a crucial 13th vote that propelled Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to the Senate presidency ahead of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

After reappearing, Dela Rosa sought refuge inside the Senate, where allies placed him under the chamber’s protective custody amid efforts by authorities to serve the ICC warrant.

Tensions escalated on May 13 after the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms allegedly fired shots at NBI personnel in a nearby building despite assurances that Dela Rosa would not be arrested while inside Senate premises.

Hours later, Dela Rosa was seen leaving the Senate with Senator Robin Padilla. Padilla later acknowledged that Dela Rosa boarded his vehicle as he headed home but denied helping the senator escape.

Padilla, meanwhile, defended Dela Rosa’s continued participation in Senate work and urged the chamber to allow the senator to perform his duties remotely while evading arrest.

“He does not want to be absent. It is very different when you do not want to show up because you will be put on a plane, brought to a foreign country, and jailed,” Padilla said.

“Whichever senator it may be, as long as there is no final conviction, it means that person is not yet a criminal, which is why he should fulfill his mandate because the Filipinos voted for him,” he added.

Padilla also argued that technology should be used to allow Dela Rosa to continue serving in the Senate despite his absence from the chamber.

Dela Rosa placed third in the 2025 senatorial elections with more than 20.5 million votes.

— Vince Lopez, Pot Chavez & Ram Superable