The Philippine National Police (PNP) recalled on Wednesday, May 13, the subpoena it issued against its former chief and now Sen. Ronaldo ‘Bato” Dela Rosa amid the ongoing political tension over the issuance of arrest warrant against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said a letter was already issued to Dela Rosa and was delivered by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Wednesday morning.
The notice of recall of the subpoena, according to Tuaño, was received by Dela’s Rosa staff as he was not around when the CIDG operatives.
The decision, according to Tuaño, is intended to honor the protection order accorded by the Senate to Dela Rosa.
“We’ll let the issue of the Senate protection order as a respect to the institution,” said Tuaño.
On Monday, the CIDG issued a subpoena against Dela Rosa following the order of Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla to resume the investigation into the drug war abuses.
The subpoena was delivered to Dela Rosa’s Senate and two addresses in Davao region but it was not received.
On Monday, the public was surprised by the sudden appearance of Dela Rosa in the Senate which later revealed that it was connected to the change of leadership in the Senate.
Dela Rosa is now holed up in the Senate amid calls for him to face the charges leveled against him.
In an earlier statement, the PNP maintained that the organization will remain prepared to act in accordance with lawful directives and established procedures, while continuing coordination with the appropriate authorities on the matter.”
It said it will honor due process and established protocols that include proper coordination with the National Central Bureau, which serves as the liaison between Philippine authorities and the Interpol, as well as the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), a government agency tasked formulate and implement strategies against transnational crime.
“The PNP remains guided by existing laws and lawful directives in relation to the reported ICC warrant confirmation,” said Tuaño. (Aaron Recuenco)
