House leaders hail Duterte arrest as ‘victory for justice’
Credit to Author: Jose Rodel Clapano| Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0800
MANILA, Philippines — Members of the majority and minority blocs of the House of Representatives lauded the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte yesterday following a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), describing the move as a “pivotal moment” in the country’s pursuit of justice.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, lead chairman of the House quad committee, said Duterte’s arrest would restore public trust in the justice system, and serve as a reminder that lawbreakers will be held accountable and tried in court.
The quad comm has conducted a comprehensive investigation into Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of victims, some of them innocent civilians.
“It is a proof that in our country, under the Bagong Pilipinas, there is no one above the law. The arrest of former president Duterte is one step towards justice for the families of those lost lives due to EJKs (extrajudicial killings),” Barbers said in a statement.
Barbers said the former president’s arrest can be seen as a potential healing catalyst for families, whose loved ones unjustifiably became statistics for EJKs.
“The first step towards healing is to correct the wrong and by giving justice to the victims,” Barbers said.
Likewise, senior deputy speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga and deputy majority leader Paolo Ortega V of La Union said Duterte had it coming after his reign of impunity.
“Justice has no expiration date. The thousands of lives lost in the bloody war on drugs deserve to be remembered, and the arrest of the former president is a testament that impunity will never be permanent,” Ortega said.
“The ICC operates based on evidence, not politics. This is not about partisanship – this is about justice, accountability, and upholding human rights,” Gonzales noted.
Meanwhile, in a joint statement, assistant majority leaders Pammy Zamora of Taguig, Jay Khonghun of Zambales and Jil Bongalon of Ako Bicol party-list described Duterte’s arrest as “a victory for justice and accountability.”
“The ICC warrant is not just symbolic – it is a clear signal that no one is untouchable, not even a former president. Former president Duterte must face the consequences of his actions,” they said.
House deputy minority leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro, who is running for senator in the coming elections, as well as ACT Teachers nominee Antonio Tinio, also welcomed Duterte’s arrest.
“This should serve as a reminder that those responsible for human rights abuses must face the consequences of their actions,” they said in a joint statement.
Similarly, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel called the arrest “long-overdue and well-deserved.”
“At least, the crowd went to see Duterte before he is jailed, a far cry from what the victims of his fake war on drugs and blood war on dissent went through. There is due process for him (Duterte), but the thousands of poor Filipinos and activists were deprived of due process subjected to shoot-to-kill when he was still the president,” he said.
For Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña, Duterte is finally reaping what he sowed.
“From Davao to Malacañang, you left your mark, not as a father of the nation, but as an executioner,” he said.
Meanwhile, Akbayan first nominee Chel Diokno is urging Malacañang to hasten Duterte’s transfer to The Hague.
“Justice demands that this warrant be enforced without delay. Duterte must be placed under the ICC’s jurisdiction immediately,” he said in a statement.
In the Senate, Sen. Risa Hontiveros dared Duterte to make good on his word that he will take “full, legal and moral responsibility” for the drug suspects’ deaths.
“I hold on to what Duterte said, under oath, that he will face the case before the ICC. I hope he, as a lawyer, will follow the process,” she said.
“The thousands of Filipinos killed during ‘tokhang’ were not murdered by one man alone. Hopefully this is just the beginning of the pursuit of justice and to hold accountable those responsible for the killing of innocent and defenseless civilians,” she added.
Meanwhile, another lawmaker is pushing for the country’s re-entry into the ICC, to show the world that in this part of Asia, respect for human rights is paramount and that impunity will never be tolerated again.
“I call on the national government for us to rejoin ICC. If this is a position that recognizes a rule-based order around the world, then let’s walk the talk. Let’s go back to the folds of the ICC,” Bataan 1st district Rep. Geraldine Roman told reporters in a news briefing.
According to the House committee on women and gender equality chairperson, it is her firm belief that the government, particularly the administration of President Marcos, has nothing to hide.
“There’s nothing wrong with rejoining ICC. Let’s show the world that we respect our rules, including rules on international law,” she said.
For former senator Leila de Lima, who is now running as first nominee of ML party-list, Duterte’s current ordeal is a “deeply personal” matter for her.
“For almost seven years I was imprisoned on fabricated charges, accused of crimes I did not commit – all because I dared to speak out against Duterte’s drug war,” De Lima said in a statement.
She said that while she was behind bars, thousands of Filipinos were killed without justice, and their families were left to grieve without answers.
“Today, Duterte is being made to answer – not to me, but to the victims, to their families, to a world that refuses to forget. This is not about vengeance. This is about justice finally taking its course,” she added.
“Justice may take its time, but it always finds its way,” ML party-list said in a statement.
According to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, keeping Duterte in the country puts the government in a risky position.
In an interview with “Storycon” on One News, Trillanes cited that Republic Act 9851 provides that the government can extradite an accused being investigated by an international tribunal like the ICC, especially that Duterte has no pending case in the country.
“I am not privy to the operational detail. But logically, it is not advantageous that Duterte stay (in our country)…it will be a cause for political instability. It is his predicament. The better scenario is to directly fly him to The Hague,” Trillanes said. “It is the prerogative of the government, not the court.”
He said he sees no part two in the ICC’s issuance of warrant of arrest against Duterte’s co-conspirators in the next few weeks, months or within a year.
“Honestly, we never see any other warrant (of arrest) except for Senator (Ronald) Bato dela Rosa. That is several months down the road yet,” Trillanes said.
He said Duterte’s other co-conspirators in his bloody war on drugs, the basis of the ICC investigation, may either land as witnesses or just be tried in local courts in the country using RA 9851, or the law pertaining to crimes against humanity. — Delon Porcalla, Mark Ernest Villeza, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Emmanuel Tupas, Mayen Jaymalin, Evelyn Macairan, Artemio Dumlao