Dela Rosa ‘needs help, not persecution,’ wife tells ‘powerful few’

MANILA — Sen. Ronald Dela needs help instead of persecution, his wife Nancy told “the powerful few who were also his friends”, after the interior department put up a P50-million bounty for information that could lead to his arrest. 

In a Facebook post, Nancy said “there are millions who still believe and support” the senator who is in hiding while being wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.  

“I just pray that the powerful few who were also his friends would come to realize he is not their enemy nor the enemy of this state. Pls do not use him for your personal agenda,” Dela Rosa’s wife said. 

“He has helped you in countless ways and he has done you no wrong personally. He needs your help, not your persecution,” she added.  

The bounty for Dela Rosa’s arrest comes just over a month before Duterte is to stand trial on November 30 for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder.

Dela Rosa emerged from months of hiding on May 11 to take refuge inside the Senate building, but slipped out days later following a standoff between security guards and investigators attempting to arrest him, in which shots were fired. 

The senator has yet to send surrender feelers despite the bounty, the national police said Monday.