Mamamayang Liberal party-list Representative Leila De Lima pushed back against recent claims made by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, who alleged that former Vice President Leni Robredo would not have allowed the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest and detain former President Rodrigo Duterte if she had won the 2022 elections.
De Lima, a vocal critic of the Duterte administration and a staunch ally of Robredo, called the accusation “difficult to believe” and emphasized Robredo’s consistent position on accountability. “No one who stood with us during the darkest days of impunity and persecution can honestly accuse her of being soft on accountability, least of all on Duterte,” she said.
Trillanes made the controversial remark during a television interview, where he also claimed that Senator Bam Aquino had allegedly sought to delay the ICC’s release of an arrest warrant for Duterte over concerns about its potential political impact in the 2025 elections.
The remarks have sparked debate within the already fragile ranks of the political opposition. While Robredo has yet to respond publicly, she has long voiced opposition to the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC. In 2019, when briefly appointed co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, she pointed to flaws in the Duterte administration’s anti-narcotics campaign and expressed openness to allowing international observers to investigate, especially if the government failed to deliver justice for victims.
“I would rather that we take care of whatever we have to take care of,” Robredo previously said, affirming that if domestic accountability systems failed, she would support international scrutiny.
For families of victims in Duterte’s drug war, the ICC has been seen as a last resort for justice, given their distrust in local processes.
De Lima, who herself was detained for years under the Duterte administration on what she and her supporters insist were politically motivated charges, warned against turning internal disagreements into fuel for disinformation.
“We do not know what has prompted these claims. But we do know their effect: division, distraction, and disinformation. Sa halip na tumutok sa mga dapat singilin sa kapalpakan at kasinungalingan, tayo pa mismo ang nagkakahiwa-hiwalay,” she said.
She also pointed to the broader political context, noting that both the Senate and House remain dominated by allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Duterte, making a strong and united opposition more crucial than ever.
Attempts to form an “independent bloc” in the Senate have fallen flat, with Senators Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan aligning with the majority. Only Senator Risa Hontiveros remains in the minority. In the House, opposition voices like Mamamayang Liberal, Akbayan, ACT Teachers, and Kabataan sit within the minority.
“We are not here to fight each other,” De Lima stressed, reminding her fellow opposition members of the shared goal: holding power to account and offering a credible alternative to Filipinos.
