Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo "Pulong" Duterte has challenged Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla to undergo a hair follicle drug test following the secretary's recent comments.
The challenge came after Remulla suggested that Duterte might have been "high" when he claimed that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had already issued an arrest warrant against Senator Bong Go and two former police officials.
"He might have been high when he heard it. We haven't seen any such thing yet," Remulla said.
In response, Representative Duterte said: "If you really want to know who is 'high' and who is 'blasted,' the solution is simple. Let's take a hair follicle drug test. Include your boss and his wife and child. One test and the issue is settled."
"You're challenging me about being 'high' and 'blasted,' Secretary Remulla? Me?" the lawmaker asked.
Earlier, Remulla denied seeing any warrant issued by the ICC regarding the congressman's allegations. When asked if Duterte had access to such a document, the secretary said he himself knew nothing about it.
"I don't know anything about it, that's why maybe he was high when he said it. Because only he saw it," Remulla added.
Meanwhile, when Duterte mentioned that his information came from a "highly reliable source," Remulla again questioned it, saying, "Maybe (the source) was just high."
On Wednesday, June 17, Duterte said in a Facebook post that a trusted source had informed him that the ICC had already issued arrest warrants against Go and two former police officers.
Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV also refuted the allegation, saying no ICC warrant has been issued against anyone. "Don't believe Pulong. There is no ICC warrant out for anyone," Trillanes said.
Currently, there is no official confirmation from the ICC regarding the alleged arrest warrants against Senator Go and the two former police officials. Bombo Radyo is still trying to get statements from Malacañang and Secretary Remulla regarding Representative Duterte's latest challenge.
