Intelligence, Leadership, and the Value of Public Money
*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
Imagine a carpenter trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. He pushes harder, reaches for a bigger hammer, and keeps striking. The wood begins to splinter, but the peg still does not fit.
A careful carpenter would pause. Perhaps the materials are sound. Perhaps the assignment needs to change.
That image offers a useful perspective on Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s leadership at the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Experience matters, but its alignment with an institution’s demands matters just as much.
Then comes the ₱50 million bounty.
On October 23, 2026, Remulla announced that amount for the capture of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, identifying DILG and Philippine National Police intelligence funds as its sources. This is an announced reward, rather than proof of money already disbursed.
Fifty million pesos deserves an explanation. What operational gap is the reward intended to address? Why are existing intelligence resources insufficient to close that gap? How was the amount determined?
A reward may encourage cooperation. Officers must still verify information, protect sources, coordinate operations, and execute a lawful arrest. If those processes are failing, increasing the bounty leaves the institutional weakness intact.
A ₱50 million bounty becomes wasteful when it substitutes for effective intelligence and committed leadership without demonstrating additional operational value.
Dela Rosa is a sitting senator who has not been convicted in this case. He faces serious allegations of crimes against humanity, which he denies. The ICC is an international tribunal, and the alleged acts occurred in the Philippines, although proceedings are abroad. His office provides no exemption from lawful arrest, but a warrant is not a judgment of guilt. His lawyers’ challenge to the reward’s legality likewise remains distinct from a judicial finding against it.
Authorities should explain the necessity and proportionality of this commitment and examine whether lawful international assistance or cost-sharing is available. Such assistance is a possibility to investigate, not an established funding source or an automatic obligation of the ICC.
Fairness also requires recognizing results under Remulla. Authorities arrested former police officer Rafael Dumlao III in June 2026 in connection with the Jee Ick-joo case. Any claim that his leadership has delivered nothing would be inaccurate.
Nevertheless, the continuing pursuit of Atong Ang, Gerald Bantag, Harry Roque, and Dela Rosa warrants scrutiny. Their cases involve different obstacles, including foreign proceedings. Those differences require tailored strategies, clear responsibility, and sustained follow-through.
General Nicolas Torre III’s experience is relevant here. He led the police operation culminating in Apollo Quiboloy’s custody and led the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte. These were collective achievements, but Torre carried direct operational responsibility amid substantial political pressure.
Intelligence-led policing helps explain his potential advantage: evaluated information must guide decisions and deployment. Operational experience can help a leader identify where that connection breaks down.
“May impormasyon po” should begin the discussion. How reliable is it? Has it been corroborated? Who must act? What prevented action last time?
Bandura’s self-efficacy theory also suggests that successful experience can support confidence and persistence under pressure. That confidence remains valuable when accompanied by critical judgment and openness to correction.
Yet the DILG requires more than operational resolve. Moore’s public value framework links operational capacity with legitimacy, support, and public benefit. Effective leadership must therefore combine enforcement with administrative competence, local government cooperation, respect for rights, and responsible spending.
As a Doctor of Organizational Development, the author advances a qualified argument that Torre’s experience may offer a stronger fit for the DILG’s current enforcement challenges. These frameworks explain possible advantages; they do not prove comparative superiority. Unresolved cases alone cannot establish Remulla’s unsuitability either. Both men must be assessed against the department’s full responsibilities.
Remulla’s experience and administrative judgment may serve government effectively in another Cabinet assignment, subject to its particular requirements. Reassignment can align a capable official’s strengths with a different institutional need.
A square peg has value. The task is to find the appropriate fit.
Public money deserves the same care. At ₱50,000 each, ₱50 million could provide 1,000 college scholarship grants, excluding administrative expenses. These would not necessarily finance complete degrees, but they could help deserving students remain in school.
Combined with mentoring and public service opportunities, such assistance could help develop future professionals and leaders. Intelligence funds cannot simply be transferred to scholarships without appropriate budgetary authority, but the comparison makes the opportunity cost tangible.
Government must show why this reward offers sufficient public benefit to justify its size. Leadership deserves an equally disciplined assessment: recognize accomplishments, identify shortcomings, and match competencies to institutional needs.
Before reaching for a bigger hammer, the President must examine whether the peg fits.
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