By Benjamin Cuaresma
DAVAO CITY — The hunt for Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is intensifying, with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confirming that the senator remains somewhere in the Philippines and that operatives are tracking his movements.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said Friday that surveillance teams have identified several areas where Dela Rosa could be staying, but agents are holding off on an operation until his exact location is verified.
“We have a team who’s tracking him under surveillance and we have identified some areas that we are monitoring,” Matibag said.
He said the NBI is prepared to move once investigators are certain they have pinpointed the senator’s location.
“I hope sooner than later we can make our operations once they are sure of the location,” Matibag added.
Asked for the whereabouts of the senator, Matibag gave only one confirmation: Dela Rosa is still in the Philippines.
The senator has been out of public view since the Senate shooting last May, while authorities continue to pursue efforts to locate him.
Dela Rosa is also the subject of an arrest order issued by the International Criminal Court over his alleged role in the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs.
His camp, however, has maintained that the senator will answer only to charges filed before Philippine courts.
For the NBI, the immediate objective remains clear: locate Dela Rosa, verify his whereabouts and make the arrest once authorities are certain of his location.
The senator’s continued disappearance now places the spotlight squarely on the NBI’s manhunt — and on how long he can remain beyond the reach of Philippine authorities.
ia/xf
