Trillanes, Jonvic clash over ICC arrest order
Former Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV on Tuesday did not hide his criticism of Secretary Jonvic Remulla of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) over the latter’s failure to secure Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who on Monday was confirmed as the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Trillanes, one of the parties who pushed for the prosecution of Dela Rosa and other enforcers of the Duterte drug war at the ICC, took a swipe at Remulla for earlier talking about a police “dragnet” supposedly being prepared against De Rosa—only to express hesitation in enforcing the warrant.
As Trillanes produced a copy of the warrant on Monday afternoon, Remulla maintained that as far as the DILG was concerned, “There was no official warrant we are in possession of.”
“Please ask him (Trillanes) if the warrant has been officially served,” the secretary added. “As far as I know, he is not part of the PCTC (Philippine Center on Transnational Crime).”
‘Whose side is he on?’
On Tuesday, Trillanes recalled that the DILG chief last weekend announced the creation of a 10,000-member task force to locate and arrest Dela Rosa.
He also noted that Jonvic’s brother, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, was the first Philippine official to report the issuance of an ICC warrant against Dela Rosa in November last year, six months before it was made public by the court on Monday.
Dela Rosa soon disappeared from public view after the Ombudsman’s statement, surfacing at the Senate only on Monday.
“Now that a warrant is out and Bato has surfaced, suddenly, the warrant can’t be that warrant? Whose side is he (Jonvic Remulla) on?” Trillanes said in a radio interview on Tuesday on True FM.
“If only he had cut down on his press conferences, he could have made an arrest,” he added.
Should come from Interpol
Sought for comment on Trillanes’ tirade, the DILG chief said “I will only act on a legal document. What he is showing is from the ICC. The Philippines withdrew from that (court) nine years ago.”
“Therefore, that warrant, as is, does not have any force and effect in the Philippines. We will respect it if it comes from the Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization),” Jonvic Remulla said in a text message to the Inquirer.
After initial denials from the time the Ombudsman made the disclosure in November 2025 up to last weekend, the ICC on Monday night confirmed the issuance of a warrant on Dela Rosa.
The senator—a former chief of the Philippine National Police—has been named one of the “co-perpetrators” in the case faced by former President Rodrigo Duterte over the thousands killed in his so-called war on drugs.
PNP will act on ‘court order’
The PNP leadership on Tuesday said it would wait for a “court order” before taking action on its former chief.
“The PNP remains guided by existing laws and lawful directives in relation to the reported ICC warrant confirmation,” said the PNP spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño.
“In the event that a court order is issued based on coordination through the NCB (National Central Bureau of the Interpol)/PCTC and concerned authorities, the PNP will implement the appropriate contingency plans and necessary operational measures in accordance with due process and established protocols,” Tuaño added.
Meanwhile, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the continuing deployment of a police antiriot contingent at the Senate complex in Pasay City was “strictly a proactive security measure to ensure public order and the safety of the institution.”
“The PNP is here to provide perimeter security and prevent any potential civil disturbance arising from the current political situation,” he added.
