THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said no red notice has been issued yet against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa in connection with a supposed arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The Center for Transnational Crimes has not received any red notice against Senator Ronald Dela Rosa. At present, there is no actionable document for the Department to respond to,” the DILG said in a statement on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
“The DILG is currently focused on ongoing recovery operations in Cebu and on preemptive measures in preparation for the impact of Typhoon Uwan,” it added.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said in a radio interview that the ICC had already issued an arrest warrant against Dela Rosa in relation to its investigation into crimes against humanity in the country during the implementation of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.
The Department of Justice said it is still verifying the information provided by Remulla.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in The Hague also said they have not received any warrant of arrest or related documents from the ICC, nor has any such document been uploaded to the ICC’s online portal.
Dela Rosa, the former chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the chief implementer of Duterte’s drug war, has been identified as the primary respondent in the ICC’s ongoing investigation into alleged crimes against humanity related to the killing of over 6,000 suspected drug personalities during the former administration’s crackdown on illegal drugs.
In March, Duterte was arrested on the basis of a warrant issued by the ICC. He was immediately transported to The Hague in the Netherlands and detained at the Hague Penitentiary Institution, also known as Scheveningen Prison.
However, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said Dela Rosa will not undergo the same process as Duterte, who was turned over to the ICC without any court proceedings in the Philippines.
“Not anymore. The Supreme Court has come out with a new rule on extradition requiring prior resort to a court before the person subject of extradition may be brought out of the country,” he said. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)