EDITORIAL — The longer he is free the worse it looks

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, wanted by The Hague for alleged extrajudicial killings during the previous administration, is hiding in Mindanao and is under the protection of a “powerful group of armed men,” according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

“He’s hidden in deep… They are very financially --have a lot of armed men… We have to (negotiate), otherwise if we go in hard, the body bags will be high… We do not want a civil war to start because of arrest of one man," Secretary Remulla said.

He said that they are doing all they can to negotiate because a confrontation could lead to a casualty count “worse than Marawi”, which had to be retaken by government forces after it was captured by ISIS-linked terrorists in May of 2017.

On one hand we would not want needless deaths to happen. It is not just Marawi we can look back on to see how an armed group can react when it comes to protecting someone.

When lawmen went to arrest cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr., wanted for the murder of his wife, in June 2002 in Dinagat Island, it resulted in a gunbattle between policemen and his personal bodyguards. When the smoke cleared 16 of Ecleo’s guards and one policeman were dead.

On the other hand, Senator Dela Rosa must be made to account for his crimes. Being the alleged architect of the war against drugs that killed thousands of people is no small accusation. Again, we aren’t saying he is already guilty, but he deserves his day in court to answer for the allegations against him.

So negotiate away, but get him as soon as possible.

The longer Senator Dela Rosa stays free the worse it looks for how justice operates in this country. In case there is some confusion it shows that those who are rich, powerful, and influential can easily escape from the law or are even protected from it, while those who are not are not.