The lawyer of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa denied having knowledge about the alleged "very powerful people" protecting the lawmaker as claimed by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

"With utmost respect to Secretary Remulla, we have no personal knowledge of these supposed 'powerful protectors' of Senator dela Rosa," said Israelito Torreon, Dela Rosa's lawyer, in replying to Remulla's statement in an interview late Tuesday.

"What we do know is that Senator Dela Rosa is a deeply prayerful man who places his faith in Almighty God, his one and only Protector," he added.

Dela Rosa, who had been absent from the Senate last November 11 2025 due to an alleged warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court due to his alleged role in the Duterte administration's war on drugs, reappeared on May 11, 2026 to vote in the Senate election that ousted Tito Sotto as Senate president and installed Alan Peter Cayetano. The National Bureau of Investigation tried and failed to serve the ICC warrant on Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa left the Senate premises two days later following a shooting incident.

Torreon stressed that "it is therefore unfortunate that the language of “body bags” should enter the public discourse concerning a sitting Senator of the Republic."

"Words of this nature, particularly when coming from the head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, carry enormous weight and may understandably cause apprehension among the Senator’s family, supporters, and the Filipino public," he added referring to the statement of Remulla saying that negotiation is ongoing to avoid casualties which he described as "body bags" in arresting Dela Rosa.

"We remain hopeful that this difficult national issue can be addressed through law, reason, and respect for our constitutional institutions - not through rhetoric about “body bags” or the specter of bloodshed," he added.

Meanwhile, Torreon appealed to Remulla "to exert whatever lawful influence he may have upon the President to reconsider - and, we hope, make a detour from - the present policy of facilitating the surrender of Filipino citizens to the International Criminal Court."

"This is not a call for anyone to evade lawful accountability. It is a call for accountability to be pursued in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and Philippine laws, before Philippine courts, and with full respect for our sovereignty and the rights of every Filipino citizen," he said. Robina Asido/PHS