ANOTHER habeas corpus pleading was filed before the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday, this time by Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte who called for the immediate discharge of his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, from detention.
The older Duterte was brought to The Hague Penitentiary Institution or the Scheveningen Prison at 7:34 p.m. (2:34 a.m. Philippine time) aboard a black vehicle upon his arrival in the Netherlands.
The charted flight that brought Duterte to the Netherlands landed at the Rotterdam The Hague airport at 4:54 p.m. (11:54 p.m. Philippine time).
The Duterte patriarch was arrested on Tuesday morning upon his arrival from Hong Kong on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC, which is investigating him for alleged crimes against humanity.
A chartered flight flew him to the ICC headquarters in The Hague on Tuesday night. He was accompanied by former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, a private nurse and a personal bodyguard.
In his petition, the lawmaker urged the SC to issue a writ of habeas corpus and order the immediate release of his father from detention, which he said constitutes a “gross violation of his constitutional rights” because it was allegedly based on his “unlawful” arrest.
He reiterated the argument raised by his siblings – Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and Veronica “Kitty” Duterte – that the government committed grave abuse of discretion by “illegally cooperating” with the International Criminal Court (ICC) despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019.
“What happened is a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines. The enforcement of the ICC’s warrant of arrest is patently unconstitutional and undermines the nation’s sovereign prerogative,” he said.
Since the Philippines is no longer a member of the Rome Statute, he said the government “illegally” cooperated with the ICC when it allowed the arrest warrant to be served on his father.
“Any mandate given to any ICC prosecutor and any arrest order issued by the ICC after our withdrawal from the Rome Statute is patently unconstitutional,” he said.
He added the Marcos administration’s compliance with the ICC warrant despite Manila’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute can be considered a “treasonous” act.
Pulong also asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction and direct the government to desist from cooperating with the ICC and the International Criminal Police Organization in the future.
“After giving due course to the petition, annul the acts of the respondents affirming cooperation with the ICC and Interpol, and make permanent the prohibition to cooperate with the same,” he said.
He said the SC, when it issues the writs, should direct the Philippine Consul in the United Arab Emirates or The Netherlands to serve these on the police officers who accompanied his father in the chartered so they can bring back the former president.
Baste and Kitty separately filed their habeas corpus pleas on Wednesday, the same day that Vice President Sara Duterte and Pulong also separately flew to Netherlands to meet and show their support for their elderly father.
He is represented in the petition by former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who has a warrant of arrest from the House of Representatives for refusing to submit documents required by the House quad committee investigating the extrajudicial killings related to the Duterte administration’s drug war.
SC spokesperson Camille Ting has yet to answer queries if Roque can sign such a document without his presence, if a digital signature is enough, and what are the possible violations committed, if any.
NO HABEAS CORPUS ORDER
The SC yesterday did not take immediate action on the three habeas corpus petitions filed by the Duterte siblings.
Instead, the Office of the SC spokesperson said the en banc only “unanimously resolved to direct respondents in the petitions to show cause within a non-extendible period of 24 hours from receipt of notice why the peremptory writ of habeas corpus should not issue.”
The en banc also resolved to consolidate the three petitions.
Named respondents in the now consolidated petitions are Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Interior Secretary Juan Victor “Jonvic” Remulla, PNP chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil, PNP CIDG chief Nicolas Torre III, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., and Antonio Alcantara, Executive Director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime.
On Wednesday, former Labor Secretary Silvestre “Bebot” Bello III said a petition for habeas corpus to bring back Duterte to the Philippines may no longer be workable since he is already out of the country.
Bello is serving as one of Duterte’s legal counsels.
SARA IN NETHERLANDS
The vice president arrived in Amsterdam at around 9:27 p.m. on Wednesday (4:27 a.m. Thursday, Manila time) and was met with assistance from the Dutch Foreign Ministry and the Dutch National Police Corps, according to a statement from the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
“The Vice President is scheduled to attend a series of meetings (yesterday, 13 March 2025), while waiting for the time to visit her father, former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte,” the OVP said.
The vice president has said that she has to discuss their camp’s plan of action with her father’s legal team.
At the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City where the former president’s chartered flight took off, Sara said her mother had warned her that she could also be ordered arrested by the ICC.
“My mother warned me, told me to be careful because I might be the next target of the ICC,” she said.
FAKE TRO
Zambales Rep. Jefferson Khonghun said lawyer Raul Lambino, who is running for senator under the PDP-Laban banner, should be penalized for disseminating false information when he claimed on Tuesday night that the SC had already issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping Duterte’s arrest.
Khonghun said that as members of the Bar, lawyers have a duty to uphold the truth and should be held accountable for spreading misinformation.
“Kailangan hindi nagsasabi ng fake news, hindi nagsasabi ng kasinungalingan. So kailangan din meron silang pananagutan sa bawat salita na lumalabas sa kanilang mga bibig (He can’t be spreading fake news, peddling lies. So they should also be held accountable for every work that comes out of their mouth),” he said.
The High Court did not issue a TRO against Duterte’s arrest, saying it did not find sufficient reason to immediately grant the request made by the former president and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.
For his part, La Union Rep. Paolo Ortega V said that those who were once afraid to speak out about the summary killings under the Duterte administration may now find the courage to testify against Duterte and his allies.
“Sigurado ‘yun, mas lalong may mga taong magco-come forward saka ‘yung mga tao sigurong mas takot dati, medyo nawawala na ‘yung takot nila. (Probably many more will come forward and maybe those who used to be afraid, will now find courage),” he said. – With Wendell Vigilia
