PNP launches hotlines for tipsters on Bato

MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippine National Police has opened five 24/7 hotlines and guaranteed confidentiality for tipsters who can provide any information on the whereabouts of wanted Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

PNP spokesman Col. Allen Rae Co said the cellphone numbers are 0927-3073501, 0995-5122729, 0945-6115926, 0999-3619878 and 0960-6923025. They are operational and ready to accept calls and messages from informants who have leads on Dela Rosa.

Co added that tipsters can also use the Unified 911 hotline.

“We assure anybody who will be giving tips that their identities, numbers will be kept confidential,” Co said at a news briefing in Camp Crame.

Dela Rosa is believed to be hiding somewhere in Mindanao under the protection of a powerful armed group.

With the looming deadline for Dela Rosa to surrender, Co urged members of the senator’s family to convince him to turn himself in to the authorities, adding that they want a peaceful resolution and accord the senator dignity instead of hunting him down.

“Maybe they could talk to the senator and prevail upon him to voluntarily surrender,” Co said.

If the senator’s wife Nancy would reach out to them, Co said they would welcome the gesture.

Another person who could serve as a bridge is Dela Rosa’s son, Rock, a captain in the police force.

“It’s very hard for a son but that’s one of the avenues,” he said.

‘No political persecution’

Efforts to track down Dela Rosa do not constitute political persecution, Malacañang stressed yesterday. ?Palace press officer Claire Castro said Dela Rosa’s case started in 2017 during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose controversial drug war left more than 6,000 suspects dead based on official data.

“At that time, President Marcos Jr. was a private citizen. To claim that it is a political persecution is a bit far-fetched,” Castro told Bombo Radyo yesterday. ?Castro cited Republic Act 9851 or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity to justify the operations against Dela Rosa, who was chief of the PNP when Duterte launched the drug war.

Under the law, authorities may surrender or extradite suspected or accused persons in the Philippines to an appropriate international court, if any, or to another state pursuant to the applicable extradition laws and treaties.

“We did not violate any law,” Castro said.

“If this issue did not happen way, way back, the government would not surrender anyone. It just happened that there is an issue and let us not forget that there are alleged victims of EJK (extrajudicial killings) who also need justice,” she added.

Castro responded to critics who argued that no local institution has issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa and that surrendering the senator to the ICC is tantamount to turning over a Filipino citizen to foreigners.

She argued that the ICC is a court, not a foreign state, and that the Philippines was a member of the ICC when the case started.

“Let us not just focus on Sen. Bato and other co-perpetrators. Let us also remember as Filipinos that there are Filipinos who are crying and who have ill feelings because they feel that they have not receive enough and real justice,” Castro added.

The government has offered a P50-million bounty for the capture of the senator and has given him until tomorrow to surrender. –  Alexis Romero