THE Philippine government has yet to receive a formal copy of the reported warrant of arrest for Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Tuesday.
“As far as I’m concerned, it remains ‘alleged.’ But as far as I am concerned, I have not seen a formal copy of a warrant of arrest or request for an arrest from the ICC,” Remulla said in a Palace briefing, speaking in Filipino.
“So, just to make it clear, neither the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), nor the DILG, PNP (Philippine National Police), or the Center for Transnational Crimes has received a formal copy of the warrant of arrest. However, there are several people who claim to have seen a copy. But the formal copy has not yet been shown to us. So as far as I am concerned, there really is no warrant of arrest yet,” he added.
Dela Rosa, as former chief of the PNP, was a key implementer of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs, during which thousands of suspected drug offenders were killed, prompting allegations of crimes against humanity.
Arrested in March 2025, Duterte is now detained at The Hague, awaiting trial before the ICC.
Among those who broke the news about an impending arrest order against dela Rosa is Remulla’s brother, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, who claimed to have seen a signed digital copy of the warrant against dela Rosa.
Dela Rosa has ceased attending sessions in the Senate since November following reports that the ICC had issued an order for his arrest.
Remulla previously said the DILG had sighted the former police chief in different locations and had already tapped local authorities to trace his movements.