A legal bid filed by members of the Duterte family is pressing the Supreme Court to block any further coordination by Philippine authorities with international bodies tied to the Rome Statute, arguing that such cooperation should be halted even after the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The position is laid out in a 66-page memorandum submitted to the High Court by Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, represented by counsel Harry Roque. The filing insists that the petitions before the court remain live controversies and warrant full adjudication, notwithstanding developments that followed the former leader’s apprehension last year.
According to the pleading, the cases should not be dismissed as academic because the former president, Rodrigo Duterte, remains in custody in The Hague. On that basis, the petitioners maintain that the legal questions raised—particularly those touching on government action after the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute—continue to have practical consequences.
The memorandum argues that the process leading to the former president’s surrender and transfer was unlawful, and that domestic authorities cannot rely on existing statutes to justify cooperation that, in the petitioners’ view, contravenes both constitutional guarantees and applicable laws. It further asserts that international coordination tied to the Rome Statute should be restrained moving forward.
As relief, the filing asks the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus for the former president, nullify government acts affirming cooperation with the International Criminal Court and Interpol, and bar future collaboration related to the statute’s application in the Philippines.
