Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has handed over just 26 of the 117 firearms registered in his name since police revoked his gun licenses, the Philippine National Police-Civil Security Group (PNP-CSG) said on Monday. That leaves 91 weapons still to be surrendered, according to PNP-CSG Director Maj. Gen. Aden Lagradante.
The PNP Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) canceled the senator’s licenses and registrations under an order dated May 26 and signed by FEO chief Brig. Gen. Jose Manalad Jr. Dela Rosa held a Type 5 License to Own and Possess Firearms that would otherwise have stayed valid until March 10, 2034, and the PNP-FEO has said 117 assorted firearms are registered under it. With the revocation in place, he and his representatives are required to turn over every firearm registered to him.
Lagradante told a press briefing that police are still working with the senator’s legal officer to recover the remaining weapons. “From 117, they have turned in 26, so we still have 91,” he said. Under the rules, he added, the guns should already have been surrendered, but the latest word from Dela Rosa’s camp is that it is still accounting for the rest. The senator’s side has also written to the FEO asking it to reconsider the revocation.
The cancellation followed a May 25 request from the National Bureau of Investigation to void the license after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa. Under Section 4(g) of Republic Act No. 10591, a gun owner must not have been convicted of, or be facing a pending case for, a crime punishable by more than two years in prison. Dela Rosa was told to give up his firearms within a notice period or upon his arrest.
At the ICC, Dela Rosa faces a charge of crimes against humanity of murder over his role in the drug war under former President Rodrigo Duterte, both when Duterte was mayor of Davao City and later during his presidency. The court, which holds Duterte in custody in The Hague, the Netherlands, has named Dela Rosa a “co-perpetrator.” The Office of the Solicitor General and the Department of Justice both classify the senator as a fugitive from justice.
