CIDG, NBI launch ops to serve warrant vs. Bato Dela Rosa

The Philippine National Police–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) launched simultaneous operations in four locations on Wednesday to serve an arrest warrant against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa.

In a statement, CIDG Director Robert AA Morico II said tracker teams from the CIDG, the PNP Intelligence Group, the National Capital Region Police Office, Police Regional Office 3, and the NBI were deployed to areas in Parañaque, Bulacan, and Pampanga.

The operations were launched following what the CIDG described as directives from the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Morico said the coordinated operations aimed to locate Dela Rosa and implement the arrest warrant linked to proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“The simultaneous actions materialize recent directives from the DOJ to enforce the warrant of arrest issued by the ICC,” the CIDG said in its statement.

The CIDG said the synchronized operations across multiple locations underscored law enforcement agencies’ commitment to implementing court orders “without bias or exception.”

Authorities also assured the public that the operations would be conducted within the bounds of the law and with due respect for constitutional rights.

The statement did not indicate whether Dela Rosa had been located or arrested as of posting.

Dela Rosa had largely stayed out of the public eye for about six months before resurfacing on May 11, when he voted in favor of a leadership change in the Senate.

He evaded an attempt by NBI agents to arrest him, briefly fleeing to the Senate session hall after a short chase.

Dela Rosa later slipped out of the Senate premises in the early hours of May 14 and again disappeared from public view.—MCG, GMA News