P50-M bounty ‘substantially narrowed’ Dela Rosa’s movement, Palace says

MANILA — The P50-million reward for the apprehension of fugitive Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa has “substantially narrowed” the movement of the lawmaker who has a standing arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for charges of crimes against humanity, a Palace official said on Thursday.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government’s deadline to surrender lapses on October 29, with the government placing a P50-million bounty for his arrest.

“The combined effect of heightened police operations, increased public awareness and the bounty announcement has substantially narrowed the senator’s ability to move freely without drawing attention,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said, quoting a message from the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“All information received is being carefully and thoroughly assessed, and credible leads are being acted upon without delay,” she said.

Castro declined to give further operational details on Dela Rosa’s location and arrest, saying that “doing so could expose information sources, compromise the validation of leads, alert the subject to police efforts, or endanger the personnel involved.”

The former police chief-turned-senator is charged as a co-conspirator of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs that saw thousands of suspected drug peddlers and users—including minors—killed in police-sanctioned operations.

He went into hiding in late 2025 after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla confirmed that the ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.

The fugitive lawmaker surfaced in the Senate in May to help install his ally, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, as Senate President, but authorities failed to arrest him after he sought refuge within the legislative chamber; he holed up in his office for days before eventually slipping past dozens of police personnel guarding the premises.

Earlier this month, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla admitted that he “dropped the ball” in Dela Rosa’s arrest, saying that he relied too much on a gentleman’s agreement and failed to anticipate that the fugitive lawmaker’s allies in the chamber would help him flee.