Robredo on Duterte’s arrest: It’s ‘first step towards accountability‘

Former Vice President Leni Robredo and former Senator Leila de Lima hold a press conference in Bicol on Saturday, March 15, 2025. —Screenshot from a livestream posted at de Lima’s Facebook page

MANILA, Philippines — “Everything that’s being said now, this is the first step towards accountability, justice, which Senator Leila went through.

“So with all these talks about everything – due process, how unfair everything is – I will always go back to the situation.”

This’s what former Vice President Leni Robredo said in Filipino when she compared the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte and former Sen. Leila de Lima’s incarceration.

In a press conference in Bicol, Robredo and de Lima were asked if the country has enough domestic laws to justify the arrest of Duterte.

The former president was brought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague in the Netherlands for his crimes against humanity case.

De Lima said she saw nothing wrong with the arrest.

She cited Republic Act No, 9851, which states that “our Philippine authorities, or government, can defer to an international tribunal and can surrender the subject of the investigation” to the international court.

READ: De Lima to Duterte: It’s your time to face charges

De Lima also cited a Supreme Court ruling that states that the ICC retains jurisdiction over the crimes committed during the times the Philippines was still a member of the international tribunal.

The Philippines withdrew its membership in March 2018, but the withdrawal took effect in March 2019.

Meanwhile, Robredo said the situation of de Lima when she was arrested was different from what Duterte is supposed to have experienced under the custody of the ICC.

She described the living conditions of de Lima during her detention,

She recalled de Lima’s lack of access to computers, phones, and the internet when she was jailed, despite the fact that she was still fulfilling her duties as a senator.

De Lima had been acquitted of multiple criminal cases, including three illegal drug trade raps, filed against her.

“She was incarcerated for almost seven years on trumped up charges,” Robredo said.

“She did not question the due process. She had to go through everything. Even if the accusations were false, she faced all of them,” she added.

On Tuesday, De Lima said Duterte’s arrest was “deeply personal” for her as she was imprisoned for her criticism of the ex-president’s war on illegal drugs.

She also said that Duterte being made to answer the cases was all about “justice finally taking its course.”

On Friday night (Philippine time), Duterte made his first appearance before the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I.

READ: ICC junks Rodrigo Duterte’s plea to postpone first court appearance

The former president was a subject of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the war on illegal drugs launched by his administration.

The official copy of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC that the government received from the International Police Organization (Interpol) became the basis of Duterte’s arrest.

Based on government data, the war on drugs claimed around 6,000 lives.

However, information from human rights watchdogs said the real numbers reached more than 20,000.