Philippines: Presidential Palace Defends 50 Million Peso Bounty on October 26, Saying Pursuit of Senator Dela Rosa Is a Lawful Operation
The Philippine presidential palace on October 26 defended the 50 million peso bounty on Senator Ronald dela Rosa, saying it is part of a lawful operation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police. Claire Castro, Undersecretary of Presidential Communications, said in an interview with state radio that the bounty is an operational strategy of the Secretary of the Interior and the national police; when asked whether President Ferdinand Marcos had ordered or approved it, she did not directly confirm the President's role. Castro said confidential and intelligence funds allocated to the Department of the Interior and the police can be used for such operations, provided the authorities can substantiate the operation and produce results. Dela Rosa is wanted by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of having, while serving as national police chief, assisted in carrying out the drug war under former President Rodrigo Duterte and committed crimes against humanity; he himself denies involvement in illegal killings. He last appeared in public in May; after hiding for six months, he took refuge in the Senate for several days, then left the Senate in the early hours of May 14 amid chaos. The police have asked Dela Rosa to surrender within a week from last Friday, but Castro said that even if he fails to surrender by the deadline, the operation will not stop. On October 26, Dela Rosa's lawyer Israelito Torreon posted on social media questioning the legal basis of the bounty, arguing that the authorities should produce an arrest warrant issued by a Philippine court. At the day's exchange rate, 50 million pesos is about US$787,000. The intertwining of this bounty with the International Criminal Court case makes the incident involve both Philippine domestic law enforcement procedures and disputes over international judicial jurisdiction, and its subsequent course is worth watching.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 马尼拉戈登堡大宅（资料图）。摄影：Diego Delso，CC BY-SA 4.0，取自 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Goldenberg Mansion, Manila (file photo). Credit: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
