Malacañang said police officers must carry out their duties in the case of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa without allowing his former position as PNP chief to influence their actions, while the police leadership rejected a “shoot-to-kill” approach.
Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remained confident in the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police as long as they continued working to locate the senator.
Castro said the President was not expressing frustration over the unsuccessful search. She warned, however, that the situation would change if police officers were found to be sheltering Dela Rosa.
“The only problem would be if it is established that police officers themselves are harboring Senator Bato dela Rosa to prevent his arrest,” she said.
Castro maintained that a valid arrest warrant existed and said officers could not choose whether to implement it simply because Dela Rosa once headed the police force.
PNP chief Police Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., meanwhile, said on November 3 that law enforcement must remain grounded in due process and human rights.
“Our mandate is to enforce the law, not take it into our own hands,” he said.
Nartatez ordered continued monitoring and intelligence-gathering to locate Dela Rosa and reminded personnel to exercise maximum restraint and proportionality in any operation.
The senator faces an international arrest warrant connected with crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court. His one-week deadline to surrender expired on October 30.
Police Regional Office 11 urged him to surrender peacefully and assured him that police action would be limited to what was necessary and legally justified.
Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte separately challenged authorities to present a valid arrest warrant, warning that an arrest without one would amount to kidnapping.| – BNN Integrated News
