TWO children of former president Rodrigo Duterte yesterday filed separate habeas corpus petitions before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking the immediate return of their father to Manila.
A writ of habeas corpus is a legal remedy requiring a detained individual to be brought before the court.
The petition filed by Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, the youngest child of the 79-year-old former president, asked the High Court to direct the government to bring her father back to Manila and compel it to “account for its constitutional transgressions on the rights of PRRD.”
In his petition, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte sought the immediate and unconditional release of his father, saying that his arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) were illegal
The two petitions were anchored on the argument that the Philippine government is not obliged to comply with the ICC arrest order since it is no longer a signatory to the Rome Statute that established the international tribunal.
The Philippines, during the Duterte administration, withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019.
The elder Duterte was arrested on Tuesday morning upon his arrival from Hong Kong on the basis of a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC on March 7, 2025.
He was flown to The Hague, where the ICC’s main office is located, aboard a chartered jet that left Manila at 11:03 p.m. on Tuesday night.
The former president will face trial for crimes of humanity over his administration’s bloody drug war and alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) that were committed when he was the incumbent Philippine president and mayor of Davao City.
‘ILLEGAL ARREST’
Kitty was represented by former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo and his son, Salvador Paolo Jr.
“Wherefore premises considered, the petitioner Veronica A. Duterte in behalf of Rodrigo R. Duterte, respectfully prays that this Honorable Court grant the instant petition for habeas corpus, and issue a writ commanding respondents Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin, Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla, Police General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, and Nicolas D. Torre III and or any person/persons and/or government bodies acting on their behalf to produce the body of Rodrigo R. Duterte before this Honorable Court immediately,” part of the petition said.
Kitty accused the government of allegedly orchestrating the “illegal arrest, detention, and surrender” of her father without due process and of supposedly blatantly ignoring legal safeguards under Philippine laws, specifically Presidential Decree No. 1069, commonly known as the Philippine Extradition Law.
She alleged that the former president was denied his legal right by the Marcos administration to challenge his arrest and extradition to the ICC before local courts.
The petition cited Sections 10 and 12 of PD 1069
to argue that Duterte’s extradition was illegal.
Section 10 mandates that a judge has to decide whether or not to grant extradition based on the existence of prima facie case to warrant such a move, while Section 12 gives an individual subject of an extradition the right to appeal any decision for extradition.
The appeal process would automatically put on hold any deportation or extradition.
Duterte’s daughter said her father was never given the chance to legally question the government’s basis for extraditing him to the ICC.
“There was no legal basis for my father’s arrest, detention, and sudden removal from the country,” she said.
When asked what will happen if Duterte is already in ICC custody and the SC grants the habeas corpus plea, Panelo Jr. said it is the problem of the Marcos administration.
“Problema na ng gobyerno ‘yun sapagkat sila ang gumawa ng illegal na action. Kailangan nilang itama ito (That will be the problem of the government since they did something illegal. They should correct their action),” he said in an interview after filing the petition.
‘UNLAWFUL DETENTION’
In his petition, the Davao mayor said his father’s arrest and transfer to the ICC were illegal, saying that the Philippines had already withdrawn from the ICC in 2019 and, therefore, has no obligation to comply with its orders.
“The former president is being unlawfully detained and faces an unauthorized transfer to The Hague based on an unverified, unenforceable ICC warrant,” he said.
“The basis for his detention and transfer is an unverified and unenforceable ICC warrant, which lacks a valid warrant of arrest and has not been properly served in accordance with Philippine legal procedures. This action is a grave violation of Philippine sovereignty, the Constitution, and international legal principles governing state jurisdiction,” he added.
He alleged what happened to his father contravened the Philippines’ sovereign rights to govern its own legal and judicial affairs.
“This action unlawfully disregards the State’s inherent rights to exercise jurisdiction over its citizens for acts allegedly committed within its borders,” he added.
The city mayor also raised the health and well-being of his father, claiming that he has been denied medical care and visitation rights since his arrest.
“On the day of his arrest, he was scheduled for a medical check-up. However, despite his doctors traveling to his place of detention, they were denied access. Furthermore, his relatives, including his children, were also refused visitation rights,” Baste said.
Malacañang said a team of government doctors have been by the side of the former president and are taking care of him.
A team of doctors also accompanied Duterte in the plane that carried him to The Hague.
Baste said the situation escalated further when the government “forcibly” placed Duterte on the jet despite being aware of the petition before the SC.
“This act demonstrated a blatant disregard for the Court’s authority and its jurisdiction over the matter,” he said.
“Accordingly, the Honorable Court is respectfully urged to issue the writ of habeas corpus, order the immediate release of former president Rodrigo Duterte, and prevent any further unlawful attempts for his transfer to the ICC,” he said, adding that what happened to his father is not merely the liberty of one man but a “defining moment of the supremacy of Philippine law, the protection of constitutional rights, and the unwavering defense of national sovereignty against foreign interference.”
Named respondents in Baste’s petition are Bersamin, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Marbil, Torre, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo, AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr., and Antonio Alcantara, Executive Director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime.
NO TRO
The SC yesterday did not g rant the temporary restraining order requested by the former president and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa in a petition filed on Tuesday afternoon.
Duterte and Dela Rosa challenged the validity of the ICC warrant of arrest and asked the SC to bar further cooperation by the Philippine government with the international court.
“After a virtual deliberation on the 94-page petition, the SC by majority vote found that the petitioners failed to establish a clear and unmistakable right for the immediate issuance of a TRO,” a statement issued by the Office of the SC spokesperson said.
Torreon and former Labor Secretary Silvestre “Bebot” Bello III on Tuesday night claimed they supposedly received information that the SC granted their request for a TRO. Bello is serving as one of Duterte’s legal counsels.
Torreon even rushed to the SC to get a copy of the supposed TRO but left after failing to get hold of any SC official.
The SC Spokesperson’s statement said the magistrates directed the respondents to comment on the petition within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of notice of its order.
Named respondents in the petition were Bersamin, DOJ Secretary Remulla, DILG Secretary Remulla, Marbil, Torre, Guevarra, Manalo, Brawner and Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.
The SC statement also said the habeas corpus petitions filed by Kitty and Baste Duterte “have been raffled to a Member-in-Charge for appropriate action” on the order of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
Under the Internal Rules of the SC, a special raffle of cases is held once a initiatory pleading praying for the issuance of a TRO or an urgent and extraordinary writ such as the writ of habeas corpus or amparo, and the case cannot be included in the regular raffle.
