FROM DAY ONE of his appointment, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla has consistently been blabbering on controversial issues deemed worthy for media consumption.
Interestingly, most of the talks he did yielded no tangent results. The likes of media slayer Gerald Bantag, notoriously famous Atong Ang, and fugitive Zaldy Co to name a few, have yet to be arrested.
Then in November last year, news broke out on the supposed arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa whose name has been dragged into the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the previous administration. He was the country’s top cop then.
Six months later, Jonvic (as usual) bragged about the idea of deploying 10,000 cops to arrest Dela Rosa in the event that an ICC arrest warrant comes. When the arrest warrant came, he hibernated. Jonvic kept mum in what looks more like an act of cowardice.
Worse, he insisted that “there is no official warrant” and even if there was, he will “implement the warrant only if it’s coursed through the Interpol.” According to insiders, Jonvic already had it as early as November last year.
No less than the ICC officially confirmed the issuance of the arrest warrant against the sitting senator. But the ICC, which must have realized that Jonvic is not capable of delivering results, opted to course through an agency that walks its talk.
On the claim of deploying 10,000 cops, neither Jonvic nor Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Jose Melencio Nartatez lifted a finger. Not one policeman backed up the NBI in trying to serve the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.
To be perfectly honest, arresting Dela Rosa is easier said than done. Aside from the protective custody he’s enjoying, Bato is being shielded by an angry mob of Duterte supporters.
Arresting Bato would entail a battalion — at least for the crowd control. NBI doesn’t have that much personnel. Jonvic’s PNP does.
No wonder, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seemed eager to find a replacement for Jonvic. He’s on a search for somebody who talks less — somebody like Nicolas Torre perhaps.
With Torre around, it could have been a different story. Torre came in when nobody dared take the challenge of arresting two of the most stubborn personalities — Apollo Quiboloy and former President Rodrigo Duterte.
Torre was forced to go “on leave” after the President relieved him as PNP chief following Jonvic’s machinations. Torre’s replacement, Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, won’t dare arrest Dela Rosa, who happens to be his former boss.