A disbarment case was filed by acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte on Thursday against Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and three other ranking government officials before the Supreme Court in connection with the alleged illegal arrest and transfer of former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague.
Aside from Remulla, the complaint also named Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty, and Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon.
Asked for comment, Remulla said, “This is not the first he filed. He has been filing cases. It is expected because his lawyers are from the Davao group.”
Remulla explained that Baste had filed similar cases in the Supreme Court when the former president was already placed in confinement at the airport. “When we are talking to FRRD, he filed a case at the Supreme Court and other courts. They can’t hide their displeasure with have stuff to do for the ends of justice. It’s forum shopping. I will just roll with the punches,” he added.
The filing of the charges was announced by Atty. Israelito Torreon, counsel for the younger Duterte, who refused to provide details, citing the confidential nature of disbarment cases.
He told reporters the complaint was directly related to the former president’s arrest and transfer to The Hague on March 11, 2025, which the camp described as “illegal kidnapping and expulsion.”
“As to the content and the specifics, I think you know that I could not expound on the same but this is related to kidnapping and expulsion of former president Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, Netherlands,” Torreon said.
The disbarment complaint alleges the officials’ role in the handover of the former president to the International Criminal Court, where Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign.
To recall, the younger Duterte filed criminal and administrative complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman on September 15, 2025, concerning the same incident. Those charges named the same officials along with others, including Interior Secretary Juan Victor Remulla, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, and several top police officers.
Alleged crimes, including kidnapping and arbitrary detention, were filed, claiming the officials conspired in the “surrender” of the former president to the international tribunal.