MANILA (October 3) — Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte has gone after top Cabinet officials, filing a disbarment case against Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, and two other Department of Justice executives over the arrest and handover of his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The complaint, filed Thursday before the Supreme Court, was prepared by lawyer Israelito Torreon, who also represents detained preacher Apollo Quiboloy. It names Prosecutor General Anthony Fadullon and DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Ty alongside Remulla and Teodoro, citing their role in serving the ICC warrant when Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11 after a flight from Hong Kong.
Remulla dismissed the move as expected backlash. “They can’t hide their displeasure with what we’ve done, or what we have sought to do in the furtherance of justice,” he told reporters.
Fadullon, meanwhile, said he has not yet received a copy of the complaint and would only comment once he has seen the allegations.
Thursday’s filing is not the first. On September 15, Baste Duterte, through Torreon, lodged criminal and administrative cases against Remulla and other officials before the Ombudsman. Those complaints also stemmed from his father’s arrest, which the younger Duterte has repeatedly decried.
The latest salvo comes even as Remulla has been cleared by the Ombudsman in an unrelated case, a decision that paved the way for his inclusion in the shortlist for Ombudsman.
