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February 24, 2026 | 5:40pm
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is already gathering information on the seven co-perpetrators named in former president Rodrigo Duterte's crimes against humanity case at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, February 24, Remulla said authorities could begin locating individuals implicated in Duterte's case even without arrest warrants to prepare for the potential issuance of arrest warrants.
"So we are all aware na mayroon nang pinangalan na co-conspirator. But wala pang warrant of arrest, so wala kaming actionable document," he said.
"But we are already tracing them kung nasaan sila para in the event na kailangan, mas handa na kami kung anong gagawin namin," Remulla added.
(So we are all aware that a co-conspirator has already been named. But since there is no warrant of arrest yet, we do not have any actionable document. But we are already tracing their whereabouts so that, if necessary, we will be better prepared on what to do.)
On February 13, the ICC prosecution released a less-redacted version of the charges it filed against Duterte, listing the three counts of murder and attempted murder, along with the eight alleged co-perpetrators linked to the violent crackdown that resulted in thousands of killings.
The alleged co-perpetrators include Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, Sen. Christopher "Bong" Go, former high-ranking police officers Dante Gierran, Isidro Lapeña, Oscar Albayalde, Camilo Cascolan, Vicente Danao and lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Go served as Duterte's personal aide and special assistant as early as 1998, from his time as Davao City mayor through his presidency, before becoming senator.
Meanwhile, Dela Rosa and Albayalde both served as chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) during Duterte’s presidency.
Dela Rosa had earlier been Davao City police chief for a year when Duterte was mayor and was later replaced by Danao, who went on to hold senior posts at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and as Manila Police District director under Duterte's administration.
Similarly, Lapeña was appointed Davao City police chief in the late 1990s and was later appointed chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) during Duterte's first year as president.
Meanwhile, Gierran was the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) regional director in Davao from 2013 to 2016 before being appointed NBI director during Duterte's presidency.
Aguirre, on the other hand, was identified as the legal counsel to Duterte and Davao Death Squad members before being appointed Justice secretary in 2016.
Cascolan, who served as finance chief of the Davao Region Police Office and later as chief of staff of the Philippine National Police, died in 2023, leaving seven of the identified co-perpetrators still subject to monitoring.
Remulla said the DILG is "getting all the records" and expects to have complete information on the whereabouts of the seven individuals by next week. Based on initial information, however, he said two of them are out of the country and currently residing in the United States.
"Makukuha at makukuha 'yan (We'll eventually have information on them). I'll get the full details next week," he added.
As Go remains present at Senate plenary sessions despite being named co-perpetrator, Dela Rosa is still missing. He has been absent since Ombudsman Boying Remulla told the media he has information on a possible arrest warrant against Dela Rosa. Almost four months have passed since he was last seen in the Senate.
DILG's Remulla believes Dela Rosa is hiding in Davao with his family.
The ICC, meanwhile, is holding week-long hearings until February 27 to determine whether to confirm the charges against Duterte and move the case to trial.
