Short answer. Yes. Section 97 lets the Oversight Committee on Dangerous Drugs summon any public official, private citizen, or other person by subpoena ad testificandum, and compel documents by subpoena duces tecum. It was funded with an initial 25,000,000 pesos charge against the Senate's budget, with later funding set annually, and it exists for ten years, extendible by Congress.
What the law says
invite or summon by subpoena ad testificandum any public official, private citizen, or any other person to testify before it, or require any person by subpoena duces tecum documents or other materials
RA 9165, Section 97 — Committee Rules And Funding. Read the full provision →
What the law says
the initial sum of Twenty-five million pesos (P25,000,000.00) shall be charged against the current appropriations of the Senate.
RA 9165, Section 97 — Committee Rules And Funding. Read the full provision →
Its subpoena power
Section 97 lets the committee adopt its own internal rules of procedure, conduct hearings, and receive testimonies, reports, and technical advice. To back up those hearings, it can summon any public official, private citizen, or other person to testify under subpoena ad testificandum, and can compel the production of documents or other materials under subpoena duces tecum, consistent with the Act. This procedural authority lets the committee gather firsthand information directly from the officials and agencies responsible for enforcing the law, rather than relying only on written reports.
Staff and funding
The committee is assisted by a secretariat, made up of personnel who may be seconded from the Senate and the House of Representatives, and it may retain outside consultants. To carry out its powers and functions, an initial sum of twenty-five million pesos was charged against the Senate's current appropriations, and whatever it needs afterward is included in the annual General Appropriations Act. The secretariat's seconded staff and any outside consultants support the committee's day-to-day monitoring work, from compiling agency reports to preparing the periodic findings the committee submits to Congress.
How long the committee lasts
The Oversight Committee on Dangerous Drugs exists for ten years from the effectivity of RA 9165, and that lifespan can be extended by a joint concurrent resolution of Congress. Unlike the courts, which handle cases indefinitely, this committee has a built-in sunset unless lawmakers act to keep it going. A joint concurrent resolution requires both chambers of Congress to agree, so extending the committee's life is itself a deliberate legislative act rather than an automatic renewal.
As of 2026 that original window has long since required at least one extension for the committee to still be functioning.
What subpoena power does not mean for a defendant
None of this gives the committee any authority over an individual's criminal case. Its subpoena powers exist to gather information for policy oversight and reporting to Congress, not to investigate, charge, or testify against a specific person in court. Someone facing a drug charge deals with the prosecutor and the trial court, not this committee. The subpoenas it issues compel testimony and documents for oversight hearings only, and cannot be used to gather evidence for use against a specific defendant in a criminal trial.
The committee's hearings are a legislative check on the drug-enforcement system as a whole, not a courtroom.
Related provisions
- RA 9165, Section 97 — Committee Rules And Funding
- RA 9165, Section 96 — Functions Of The Oversight Committee
- RA 9165, Section 95 — Congressional Oversight Committee