Senator Bato dela Rosa has resurfaced in conversations among his colleagues after joking that he might surpass Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson’s past record of going into hiding. Lacson recalled checking on him in their Senate chat group two weeks ago.
“It was in jest… I found time na kumustahin siya… Biro niya sa akin, ‘Sir, i-break ko ang record mo sa pagtatago. Tapos may ‘haha,’” he said on Tuesday.
Lacson himself went into hiding in 2010 before a Manila court reissued a warrant of arrest related to the 2000 Dacer-Corbito killings. He noted, however, that in Dela Rosa’s case, no official warrant of arrest has been issued.
Dela Rosa has been absent from Senate sessions and hearings since November 10, following Ombudsman Boying Remulla’s radio claim that the International Criminal Court had already issued a warrant against him over drug war killings during the Duterte administration.
As PNP chief under then-President Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa led the anti-drug campaign that resulted in thousands of deaths. Both he and Duterte face ICC charges for crimes against humanity.
Lacson offered blunt advice: “Ang advice ko sa kanya kung wala syang intensyon na mag surrender, magtago syang mabuti. At advice ko sa law enforcement, hanapin nyo syang mabuti. Trabaho nila yun e, maghanap.”
Lacson, like Dela Rosa, once served as PNP chief—during the presidency of Joseph Estrada.