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Elizabeth Marcelo - The Philippine Star
September 16, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte has filed criminal and administrative complaints against several Cabinet secretaries and former top police officials of the Marcos administration over the arrest and turnover of his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
In a 160-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao yesterday, the acting mayor, through lawyers Israelito Torreon and Martin Delgra, urged the anti-graft body to investigate Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla, his brother Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla and other officials.
The complaint, unless quickly resolved, could disqualify the justice chief from the post of ombudsman.
The younger Duterte accused them of kidnapping, arbitrary detention, qualified direct assault, expulsion, usurpation of judicial functions and violation of Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Act and RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Also named in the complaint were Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, Department of Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, DOJ-National Prosecution Service Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon, Philippine special envoy on transnational crime Ambassador Markus Lacanilao and Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes executive director Anthony Alcantara.
Former Philippine National Police officials were also charged, including ex-chiefs Rommel Marbil and Nicolas Torre III, and former PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo.
Aside from criminal charges, Baste charged the respondents with administrative offenses including serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, disloyalty to the Republic and the Filipino people, grave abuse of authority or oppression and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
“Perhaps this is the first time in history that a country which has already withdrawn from ICC jurisdiction delivered its own former president for persecution by foreign individuals, when it could competently prosecute him in its own land,” the complaint stated. “This cannot be tolerated, lest we become a colony of The Hague.”
Baste also asked the ombudsman to place the officials under preventive suspension, claiming the evidence against them is strong. He argued their continued stay in office poses a threat to witnesses and evidence.
“Our case will be futile if the respondents were to remain in power. Thus, a preventive suspension would be necessary not only to protect us, the complainants, but all others who would be subject to subsequent proceedings of the ICC,” he said.
Baste admitted he was not present during the “illegal arrest and kidnapping” of his father last March 11, but said he had “personal and direct access” to videos, photos and other documents related to the incident.
He alleged that from the time his father landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Hong Kong until he was flown by chartered plane to The Hague, government officials gravely abused their positions.
“He was met with an armada of police officers at NAIA Terminal 3, forcibly brought to Villamor Air Base where he was detained for several hours and then made to board a chartered plane and brought away to foreign lands,” the complaint read.
“This is more than mere imprisonment, but absolute kidnapping in broad daylight. Was there really a need to employ more than 2,000 police officers to arrest an 80-year-old unarmed citizen?” it added.
The complaint also alleged that the elder Duterte’s common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña, daughter Veronica Duterte and former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea were arbitrarily detained.
They were allegedly made to board a bus from NAIA to Villamor Air Base, where they were held in a conference room for almost 12 hours.
Baste said the acts of the respondents amounted to betrayal of the Republic.
“The manner of how the respondents railroaded the process of his swift expulsion within a single day is unprecedented, bypassing all restraints to ensure supremacy of Philippine sovereignty. Yet the respondents, blinded by their false goal, betrayed their very own country and disrespected her sovereignty and that of the Filipino people,” the complaint said.
“They are very well aware that the Philippines is a sovereign state, independent from any foreign entity. It cannot submit to the whims of a foreign court, especially one from which the Philippines has already withdrawn,” it added.
Former president Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC in connection with his bloody war on drugs, which claimed thousands of lives without trial.
President Marcos earlier said his administration did not cooperate with the ICC but merely complied with treaty obligations with Interpol in carrying out Duterte’s arrest. — Daphne Galvez, Emmanuel Tupas, Edith Regalado
