A resolution filed in the Senate is calling on the government to come clean about its role in the arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s sister leading the push for accountability.
Sen. Imee Marcos introduced Proposed Senate Resolution 340, which demands full disclosure of all communications, agreements, authorizations, and operational directives connected to the Philippine government’s cooperation with the ICC in the case against Duterte, who was arrested on March 11, 2025 and handed over to Interpol on the strength of an ICC warrant.
The resolution calls for a categorical statement of the government’s official position on ICC cooperation, both present and future, and for the executive branch to acknowledge what it describes as violations of Duterte’s constitutional and statutory rights. It further seeks accountability for officials deemed responsible and asks the government to file representations with the ICC for Duterte’s immediate return to the Philippines.
“One year has passed since the Executive Department carried out the extraordinary rendition of FPRRD. Under settled constitutional doctrine, the unlawful deprivation of liberty constitutes a continuing violation that endures for as long as the restraint persists without valid legal and judicial basis. Yet, to this day, the Government has failed to provide accountability or meaningful redress for the ongoing impairment of FPRRD’s constitutional and statutory rights,” Marcos said in the resolution.
She also raised broader concerns about what the move could signal for political opponents of the current administration and retired police officials. “The Executive Department’s persistent lack of transparency, its grave violations of the Bill of Rights, and its circumvention of the Philippine judicial system now give rise to serious and imminent concerns that similar actions may again be undertaken against the political opponents of the administration and retired police officials — thereby threatening to normalize the erosion of constitutional safeguards and the rule of law,” she said.
The resolution additionally urges the executive to stop bypassing Philippine courts in connection with any future ICC arrest warrants.
The Department of Justice has maintained that the government is not barred from coordinating with the ICC despite the Philippines no longer being a party to the Rome Statute — the treaty Duterte himself withdrew from during his presidency. President Marcos has since ruled out rejoining the court.
