MANILA— The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has offered a P50-million reward for the arrest of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, whom Interior Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla has declared “armed and dangerous” amid an ongoing manhunt for the senator.

Remulla announced the bounty saying authorities had extended courtesies to Dela Rosa because of his position as a senator but that he had remained in hiding despite efforts to negotiate his surrender.

“We have given him all the courtesy that can be afforded as a senator of the Republic of the Philippines, but he showed nothing but cowardice by going into and remaining in hiding. Senator Bato mistook my gesture of negotiation as a sign of weakness,” Remulla said in a news conference.

“It’s time for the gloves to come off. It’s time to give justice to his victims. As of today, Senator Bato will be considered armed and dangerous. We are placing a bounty of P50 million for his capture,” he added.

The reward will be sourced from the intelligence funds of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the DILG, according to Remulla. Authorities have also formed a task force led by Lt. Gen. Wilson Lopez to locate and arrest the senator.

The search for Dela Rosa extends beyond Mindanao, with intelligence operatives deployed in Western and Eastern Mindanao, Bicol, Central Luzon, Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said.

Authorities are checking information from Dela Rosa’s contacts, relatives, friends and former colleagues in the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to determine his whereabouts.

Nartatez said the police are prepared to enforce the arrest warrant but would prefer a peaceful surrender.

“The PNP is always ready for that, whether peaceful or it will come to an armed confrontation,” he said.

“Of course, we would like to have a peaceful resolution of whatsoever conflicts, especially in the implementation of any warrant, whether search warrant or arrest warrant.”

He added that police have the personnel, training and resources to respond to any eventuality. Nartatez also warned that anyone found to be harboring or protecting Dela Rosa would face legal consequences.

Remulla had earlier warned that a forced operation to arrest the senator could result in heavy casualties. He said Wednesday that Dela Rosa was under the protection of a group in Mindanao and that the government was pursuing negotiations to prevent violence. He cautioned that an operation could result in 10,000 deaths.

Dela Rosa has been in hiding since leaving the Senate before dawn on May 14, hours after a shooting incident within the chamber’s premises. He had last attended a Senate session on May 13 and was placed under the Senate’s protective custody on May 11, when Alan Peter Cayetano was Senate president. Cayetano has since been replaced by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

The senator faces an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant over his alleged role in killings linked to former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. The ICC accused Dela Rosa of being a co-perpetrator with Duterte in murder and attempted murder cases related to the anti-drug campaign.

The ICC unsealed the warrant on May 11, citing reasonable grounds to believe Dela Rosa was responsible for the crime against humanity of murder. The warrant was issued nearly a year ago, according to the report.

Both Duterte and Dela Rosa have denied the allegations against them.