DOJ Sec. Vida to PNP: Strip fugitive Bato dela Rosa of gun privileges | INQToday

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:02]Justice Secretary Frederick Vida says the Philippine National Police should have already revoked the firearms licenses of Senator Bato Dela Rosa.

[00:00:10]Dela Rosa has gone into hiding again after his brief appearance at the Senate from May 11 to May 14. The International Criminal Court earlier unsealed the arrest warrant issued against him, identifying Dela Rosa as one of the co-perpetrators in former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs campaign.

[00:00:27]National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag earlier described Dela Rosa as armed [music] and dangerous. In a press conference on Tuesday, May 26, Vida says he has directed a legal panel to coordinate with the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office to verify the exact number of weapons registered under Dela Rosa's [music] name.

[00:01:02]The Justice Secretary also says that he would speak directly with PNP Chief General Jose Melencio Natividad Junior to ensure the immediate cancellation of the gun licenses and the subsequent confiscation of the firearms.

[00:01:16]Vida emphasizes that holding a licensed firearms is a heavily regulated privilege rather than an absolute legal right. And the Republic maintains full authority to strip fugitives of these instruments. Basically, there's an arrest warrant.

[00:01:30]And the PNP got ownership and the heavy license to gun ownership is not a right, but a privilege. At any time, the state, the Republic should not be having its tools and its mechanisms needed.