Mindanao officials told not to give safe haven to fugitives

Senators engaged in rigorous deliberation on the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, weighing constitutional precedents and procedural safeguards during Wednesday’s plenary session, August 6, 2025. Joseph B. Vidal/OSP MANILA — Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said he told local government officials in Mindanao not to provide sanctuary to fugitives, as the search for Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa continues.

Vida said Dela Rosa, subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, was brought up during his November 9 visit to General Santos City.

“Actually we were asking na, iyon nga huwag silang maging haven ng fugitives,” Vida said.

(Actually, we were asking them to not let their areas be havens for fugitives.)

He said Davao del Sur Vice Governor Marc Cagas told him Dela Rosa is not in the province and that the provincial government will not give him sanctuary.

Last Tuesday, Vida and National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag met with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, BARMM ministers and governors, as well as Mindanao governors at a hotel in General Santos City.

“Ang mensahe na dinala ko doon, open ang national government, open ang Department of Justice makipagtulungan,” Vida said.

(The message I brought was that the national government and the Department of Justice are open to cooperation.)

Dela Rosa was last seen in May this year at the Senate building, where he left protective custody hours after a shootout involving Senate security and NBI agents took place.

He is wanted by the ICC for being the key architect and implementer of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs.”