FOLLOWING the Supreme Court’s recent decision to deny temporary relief to Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) on Tuesday confirmed it has initiated continuous monitoring of the lawmaker’s whereabouts, although no active arrest operations are underway.
In an interview with the media on Tuesday, May 26, DCPO chief Colonel Peter Madria clarified that local law enforcement has not received a formal warrant or a direct execution order from national headquarters to apprehend the former top cop.
“Actually, our monitoring is continuous,” Madria told reporters on Tuesday morning. “We will implement the order of the court if we receive a warrant of arrest, to ensure the court’s directives are carried out.”
Recently, a 9–5–1 Supreme Court vote rejected Dela Rosa’s prayer for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
Madria stressed that the local command cannot act without formal paperwork passing through standard administrative channels.
According to Madria, neither the DILG nor the PNP national headquarters has handed down an official directive to executing an arrest in the region.
“As of now, we don’t have it on our level,” Madria said, referring to the physical copy of an arrest warrant. “There are no orders from the DILG and PNP yet.”
Nevertheless, the DCPO chief confirmed that tracker protocols are loosely in place, given the senator’s deep roots and established residence in the city. “But we are conducting monitoring so that it’s continuous [since Senator Dela Rosa has a house in Davao City],” Madria added.
