Bato dela Rosa's wife Nancy thanks supporters, says he is not enemy

Nancy dela Rosa, wife of Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, on Monday thanked her husband's supporters and said he is not the enemy of his friends and of the country.

"Thank you for helping me realize that there are millions who still believe and support him," Nancy said in a post on Facebook.

"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," she said.

Nancy also appealed to those in power not to use Bato for their personal agenda.

"Pls do not use him for your personal agenda. He has helped you in countless ways and he has done you no wrong personally. He needs your help, not your persecution," she added.

Bato is in hiding after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest for him on November 6, 2025 in connection with the crimes against humanity case involving former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He is charged before the ICC as a co-perpetrator with Duterte for cases of murder and attempted murder tied to the war on drugs of the latter's administration. Dela Rosa was the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the height of the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war campaign.

Both Duterte and Dela Rosa have denied the allegations against them.

Bato showed up at the Senate last May and was able to evade operatives who tried to implement the ICC arrest warrant.

He was thereafter placed under the protective custody of the Senate.

However, he was able to slip out of the Senate by riding with Senator Robin Padilla in the latter's vehicle.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government raised a P50-million reward this month for the arrest of Bato, who, according to Interior Secretary Juanito Victor "Jonvic" Remulla, is now considered "armed and dangerous."

Malacañang on Wednesday called on Bato to turn himself in and face the arrest warrant issued against him by the ICC so that a potentially violent confrontation could be prevented.

The Law Firm of Torreon and Partners has questioned the basis of the P50-million reward the DILG has offered for the arrest of Bato.

“The only document the government has is a warrant from the International Criminal Court. That is a foreign tribunal under a treaty the Philippines withdrew from effective March 17, 2019. No Philippine judge has examined that warrant, adopted it, or issued one of his own,” the firm said on Facebook.

“A reward system built on Philippine warrants cannot be used for a person who has no Philippine warrant,” it added.

Senators from the minority bloc on Saturday urged President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and concerned agencies to negotiate with the legal team of Bato for a “peaceful resolution” amid efforts to bring him before the ICC.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said no violence should occur when Bato is arrested.

Remulla has said Bato is in Mindanao under the protection of a group with which authorities were seeking to negotiate his turnover.

The DILG chief explained that law enforcement officers could not simply move in to arrest the senator without risking a violent confrontation.

“In exchange for up to 10,000 potential deaths, I would rather negotiate first than cost the lives of Filipinos in this,” Remulla said. “You don’t always solve problems with a hammer. Sometimes you solve things better in a more peaceful, humane way.”

Remulla did not explain how he arrived at the figure or what basis he had for his estimate. —KG, GMA News