TODAY (May 12, 2026), the Panelo Law Office, on behalf of petitioner Veronica A. Duterte, filed a Second Urgent Motion to Resolve and to Direct Respondents to Facilitate the Immediate Return of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte (“FPRRD”) before the Supreme Court in the consolidated petitions for habeas corpus (G.R. Nos. 278763, 278768, and 278798). The Motion emphasizes that fourteen (14) months have passed since the petitions were filed on March 12, 2025, with no substantive action from the Court despite the extraordinary and summary nature of the writ of habeas corpus.
The Motion also highlights the recent adoption of Senate Resolution No. 44 on March 17, 2026, expressing the sense of the Senate to protect all Filipinos from extrajudicial rendition – the very fate suffered by FPRRD – and to guarantee them a reasonable time prior to any surrender or extradition to seek redress from Philippine courts and avail of legal remedies.
The filing comes in the immediate aftermath of the dramatic events in the Senate on May 11, 2026, where an attempted enforcement of an alleged ICC warrant of arrest against Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa inside the Senate premises led to contempt citations against agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (“NBI”), the grant of Senate protective custody to the Senator, and a standoff between the Senate and the NBI. These events, the Motion argues, prove that immediate and decisive action from the Supreme Court is not only warranted, but absolutely imperative, with the Executive shamelessly capitalizing on the Court’s silence as a license to perpetrate the same grave constitutional violations complained of in the petitions.
The Rule of Law demands immediate resolution to the consolidated petitions. The prolonged delay, coupled with the latest developments, has created a constitutional crisis that can no longer be ignored. We respectfully ask the Supreme Court to urgently resolve the petitions, declare the arrest, rendition, and continued detention of FPRRD illegal and unconstitutional, and direct the respondents to take all available steps to facilitate the immediate return of FPRRD.
SALVADOR PAOLO A. PANELO, JR.
Managing Partner
PANELO LAW OFFICE
Counsel for petitioner Veronica “Kitty” Duterte
