Bato still in the Philippines — CIDG

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Bato dela Rosa is still inside the Philippines as of Friday, May 22, according to the Philippine National Police, which has ordered all its units to locate and arrest the fugitive senator.

"Just like Atong Ang, Sen. Bato is still inside the country. We will be enforcing that warrant of arrest," Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II, director of the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, told reporters at a press briefing on Friday.

Dela Rosa has been in hiding since May 14, when he slipped out of the Senate premises in Sen. Robin Padilla's vehicle to evade an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity.

Morico said Dela Rosa would be taken to the Department of Justice "immediately after" arrest for booking. Whichever law enforcement agency locates him first — the PNP or the National Bureau of Investigation — will serve the warrant, on orders from the DOJ.

"We will be turning him over, after all the booking procedure, turning him over to the Department of Justice," he said.

PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., in a separate ambush interview, said the senator could still surrender amid the ongoing manhunt for him.

"Pwede naman, seeking protective custody. Meaning, that is surrender," Nartatez said. 

"Kung by all peaceful means he will surrender, yield himself, eh 'di mas maganda, para mag-concentrate tayo sa ibang wanted person. We have Atong Ang, Zaldy Co, Bantag, and the rest of hundreds of thousands of wanted persons listed," he added.

The ICC issued a warrant for Dela Rosa after it found reasonable grounds to believe he was responsible for the crime against humanity of murder in at least 32 killings between 2016 and 2018. He was the first PNP chief under Duterte and the lead implementer of the drug war.

The Supreme Court earlier this week voted to deny Dela Rosa's plea for a temporary restraining order to block his arrest.