MANILA – Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced on Sunday a subpoena will be issued to Senator Ronald Dela Rosa on Monday for his alleged links and knowledge on extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the drug war of the Duterte administration.
Remulla said he ordered Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. to mobilize the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), PNP Legal Services and the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Management for the issuance of the subpoena.
He clarified the subpoena is not an arrest warrant but an order that requires him to appear personally before the CIDG in connection with investigations into alleged cases of EJKs during his term as PNP and Davao City Police chief.
“We are here to clarify a few things. Number one, we do not have a[n] (Interpol) red notice for General dela Rosa, this has been circulating. I have not seen a copy, I have no information of a copy, but I’m here to deny all rumors that there is a red notice, and that’s clear,” Remulla told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City.
“However, I have given orders to General Nartatez to resume the investigation regarding his previous actions as the City Director of Davao and Regional Director of Davao Region.”
Remulla said dela Rosa is still in the Philippines particularly in Davao Region, and the Davao and Region 11 police have been alerted to the possible issuance of the subpoena.
“Well, we will treat him with all the respect that he deserves. He is a senator, a former chief of the PNP, former director of the BuCor (Bureau of Corrections) and I assure you there will be no handcuffs,” he said.
Remulla said the drug war investigation of the PNP will cover all the complaints and records, including the more than 6,000 deaths during police operations and alleged involvement of some police officers in vigilante-type killings.
Nartatez said the report of the Quad Committee of the House of Representatives last year will serve as the basis of the investigation, as well as other reports and complaints of EJKs and other abuses.
“We cannot move forward as a country until there is a reconciliation of the truth of what happened in those years. So this is just the initial step in finding out what really happened,” Remulla said.
“It is also a strong message to the public that the Philippine National Police stands for accountability. There are no sacred cows and we are not protecting anyone.”
Dela Rosa, the first PNP chief during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s term that started 2016, is among the key officials linked to the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the previous administration’s anti-illegal drug operations.
He has not attended Senate sessions and public events since November 2025 after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the ICC had issued a warrant of arrest over his implication in the crimes against humanity cases of Duterte. (PNA)