Palace defends ₱50-million reward for senator under ICC warrant

The Philippine palace defended a ₱50-million reward for information leading to Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s arrest or capture under an International Criminal Court warrant, describing it as an operational strategy of the Interior Department and Philippine National Police.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced the offer on October 23, 2026. Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro defended it on October 26. She said confidential or intelligence funds could be used if the operation could be substantiated and results shown.

The offer is tied to information that leads to Dela Rosa’s arrest or capture; the announcement does not describe a payment for information alone. That distinction matters for potential informants: the stated condition is an arrest or capture, not merely submitting a tip.

The legal objection and the earlier court ruling i

Dela Rosa’s lawyer questioned the reward’s domestic legal basis and called on authorities to identify a Philippine-court arrest warrant and produce the department authorization. That is the lawyer’s objection, not a court finding that the reward is unlawful.

A Supreme Court ruling on May 20, months before the reward was announced, addressed a different request. By a 9-5-1 vote, the Court denied Dela Rosa’s request for interim relief concerning arrest under an ICC warrant, an Interpol notice or other foreign process without a Philippine judicial warrant. The Court said it had decided only the interim requests and had not resolved the main issues in the case. Because that ruling preceded the October offer and concerned interim relief, it did not decide the reward’s domestic legal basis.

October 30 is the stated surrender deadline i

Police gave Dela Rosa one week from the October 23 announcement to surrender, making October 30 the stated deadline. Castro said operations would continue if he did not surrender. The date is a surrender deadline, not a stated deadline for submitting reward information.

The reviewed reports do not specify further eligibility or payment procedures.