Senator Ronald Dela Rosa is under the protection of "very powerful people", Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said as he admitted that authorities are negotiating to get him.

Remulla did not give details about the location of Dela Rosa, who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over his involvement in the war on drugs.

"We know where he is but there are negotiations now with his protectors and ... will get him soon," he said in a Storycon interview on Tuesday.

"He is being protected by very powerful people. Let me get to the bottom of it first and when it's done we will confirm everything," he added.

When asked why there is a need for negotiations, Remulla explained that the government is avoiding casualties in implementing the arrest warrant against Dela Rosa.

"It involves body bags. There will be casualties," he said.

"We don't want casualties involved, that's number one. (He) has to surrender peacefully and we will use all the levers of the government to get him out of his hiding using all the economic and military levers that we have in order to force him out," he added.

Dela Rosa went into hiding after he left the premises of the Senate of the Philippines following a shooting incident last May 13. Robina Asido/PHS