DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla – Photo courtesy of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)/Facebook.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said authorities were looking into all possible leads in the search for Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who is being sought in connection with the International Criminal Court’s case related to the Duterte administration’s drug war.
Remulla made the statement on Tuesday at Camp Crame, where he announced the arrest of dismissed police officer Rafael Dumlao in Quezon City.
Dumlao had been tagged as the alleged mastermind in the 2016 killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo, a case that drew public outrage because the victim was abducted and killed by police officers.
Asked whether Dela Rosa, a former Philippine National Police chief, could be staying somewhere in Metro Manila, Remulla said investigators were not discounting any possibility.
Remulla said Dumlao was arrested after police received information from a tipster that he had been staying at a house in Pasong Tamo, Quezon City.
He said Dumlao had reportedly remained in the residence for about three weeks before authorities located and arrested him.
Remulla said Metro Manila could offer more cover to people trying to avoid authorities because strangers were less likely to be noticed there compared with the provinces, where unfamiliar faces could easily draw attention from local officials.
Dela Rosa was last seen leaving the Senate with Sen. Robinhood Padilla before dawn on May 14, with Padilla later saying the former police chief got off in Makati City without disclosing where he was headed next. Remulla said the PNP was continuing its work and was not protecting anyone, whether the person involved was a former police chief or a dismissed officer.
