DAVAO City Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Z. Duterte has filed criminal and administrative complaints against several top government and police officials, accusing them of conspiring in the arrest and transfer of his father, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Mayor Duterte submitted a 160-page complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman-Mindanao in Davao City on September 15, 2025.
The complaint names Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, former PNP chiefs, and other senior officials. He accused them of crimes ranging from kidnapping and arbitrary detention to usurping judicial functions in connection with the March 2025 operation.
March arrest and transfer
On March 11, 2025, authorities arrested Rodrigo Duterte in Manila under an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign. The warrant covered killings dating back to his years as Davao City mayor and continuing through his presidency from 2011 to 2019.
Police reports described the arrest as chaotic. Duterte refused fingerprinting, threatened lawsuits, and resisted being taken into custody. Despite protests from his family and allies, authorities flew him aboard a Gulfstream G550 jet from Villamor Airbase to The Hague, Netherlands—making him the first Asian head of state in ICC custody.
Human rights groups hailed the arrest as historic. Amnesty International called it a “monumental step for victims of the drug war,” while Human Rights Watch described it as “a long-overdue moment of justice.” But for Duterte supporters, the move was a betrayal. Vice President Sara Duterte condemned it as “a blatant affront to our sovereignty and an insult to every Filipino.”
High officials implicated
In his complaint, Mayor Duterte argued the arrest and transfer were illegal because no Philippine court ever issued a warrant. He claimed Justice Secretary Remulla and Interior Secretary Remulla worked directly with the ICC and Interpol to enforce what he called an “illegal implementation” of a foreign order.
He also accused Defense Secretary Teodoro and National Security Adviser Año of directing the operation.
Former PNP chiefs Rommel Marbil and Nicholas Torre III were charged, with Torre singled out for allegedly denying Duterte legal counsel and medical care and overseeing his forcible transfer to The Hague.
Other respondents include Markus Lacanilao, then special envoy for transnational crime; Anthony Alcantara, head of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes; Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon; and PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, accused of concealing Duterte’s whereabouts.
Even the pilots of the aircraft and its owner were included in the case.
The charges span eight counts of kidnapping and arbitrary detention, expulsion, usurpation of judicial functions, and administrative complaints for serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, and disloyalty to the Republic.
Government’s defense
Justice Secretary Remulla dismissed the filing as “forum shopping” and claimed Mayor Duterte’s legal team was trying to block his application for Ombudsman.
He insisted the government had only honored international treaties when it complied with the ICC warrant.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also defended the operation, saying authorities “followed proper and legal procedures.”
He argued that the Philippines’ withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019 did not erase the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes committed while the country was still a member.
Duterte’s status in The Hague
Since his transfer, Duterte’s lawyers have filed petitions questioning his fitness to stand trial, citing medical reports of memory loss and cognitive decline. The ICC has delayed the confirmation-of-charges hearing while reviewing the claims.
His camp has also asked for an interim release on humanitarian grounds, pointing to his age of 80 and his supposed lack of political influence. One unnamed country reportedly offered to host him under strict conditions, but victims’ groups strongly opposed the move, calling it an attempt to deny justice.
Duterte has already appeared via videolink before ICC judges, formally opening the proceedings. The case now hinges on whether he is medically fit to stand trial.
Political fallout
The arrest has widened the divide between the Marcos and Duterte camps. Marcos's allies argue the operation upheld international law, while Duterte loyalists see it as a betrayal of sovereignty.
Protests have broken out in Mindanao and Manila, while social media continues to churn with disinformation and political propaganda.
Human rights advocates maintain that the case represents long-awaited accountability. For them, the ICC trial is a test of whether even former heads of state can be held responsible for grave human rights violations.
What’s next?
The Ombudsman must now decide whether Mayor Duterte’s complaint has enough basis to move forward, potentially putting some of the country’s highest officials on trial. Meanwhile, the ICC’s ruling on Duterte’s fitness to stand trial—and his request for interim release—will determine the next phase of proceedings.
Whatever the outcome, the Duterte-ICC saga has already become one of the Philippines’ most consequential legal and political battles, testing both the rule of law at home and the nation’s standing in the international community. DEF