Daven Tamayo

'Kidnapped'? Lawmaker says Duterte arrest was livestreamed, done legally

Article (news)

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17417821596941741782200490.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Media and some supporters wait for the arrival of former President Rodrigo Duterte from Hong Kong at NAIA 3 on March 11, 2025. Jekki Pascual, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Media and some supporters wait for the arrival of former President Rodrigo Duterte from Hong Kong at NAIA 3 on March 11, 2025. <em>Jekki Pascual, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Members of the House majority on Wednesday defended the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte from claims by Vice President Sara Duterte that it was a case of “state kidnapping”.</p><p>The Philippine National Police arrested the former president on Tuesday on the basis of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, and coursed through Interpol. The warrant was i connection with the alleged crimes against humanity in the Duterte administration’s bloody drug war.</p><p>House Assistant Majority Leader Jude Acidre of TINGOG Party-List pointed out the arrest was streamed on social media.</p><div><strong><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/duterte-fails-to-get-immediate-tro-vs-arrest-1722">Duterte fails to get immediate Supreme Court reprieve after arrest</a></strong></div><p><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/duterte-fails-to-get-immediate-tro-vs-arrest-1722"><strong></strong></a>“Kung kidnapping ‘yun, ewan ko nalang… Mabuti nga ngayon may livestream pa sila, ‘yung mga napatay dati, katok lang, patay na agad,” he said.</p><p> (If that is kidnapping, I don&#x27;t know. At least they were able to livestream it. Those who were killed in the past, all they got was a knock on their door)</p><p>The government has, in the past, been accused of kidnapping, including by environmental activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, who said in September 2023 that<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2024/12/5/environmentalists-file-complaint-over-alleged-abduction-1912"> they were abducted by the military</a>. </p><p>Human Rights Watch, in its 2025 World Report, said 14 people were reported to have been forcibly disappeared since 2022.</p><div><strong>&#x27;IT WAS A LEGAL ARREST&#x27;</strong></div><p>House Assistant Majority Leader Raul Angelo “Jil” Bongalon (Ako Bicol Party-List) and House Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V (La Union) asserted the arrest was legal.</p><p>“Pulitika ‘yung narrative nila. They’re appealing to emotions. But again, lahat po ‘yan ay maayos naisagawa at naaayon sa batas,” Ortega said.</p><p>(Their narrative is for politics. They&#x27;re appealing to emotions. But then again, all of it was done properly and according to the law)</p><p>Bongalon said the arrest was based on “a warrant of arrest issued by a competent court, which is the [International Criminal Court]&quot; and that the police read former president Duterte his rights.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/icc-warrant-outlines-accusations-vs-duterte-1152"><strong>ICC warrant outlines accusations against ex-Philippines president Duterte</strong></a></div><p>Ortega also took a swipe at Vice President Duterte over her statement that Philippine authorities’ move to arrest her father’s and surrender him to the ICC is a “betrayal” of the country’s sovereignty and national dignity.</p><p>“Siguro, ‘yung statement magandang i-copy paste, tapos ang ilagay nila na issue tungkol dun sa West Philippine Sea. Perfect po ‘yung sagot na ‘yan,” he said.</p><p>(Maybe they should copy-paste that statement and issue it in relation to the West Philippine Sea. That would be a perfect answer)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/3/12/some-filipinos-thankful-while-others-dispute-duterte-s-arrest-as-he-departs-for-the-hague-1300"><strong>Some Filipinos &#x27;thankful&#x27; while others dispute Duterte&#x27;s arrest as he departs for The Hague</strong></a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZYBuWduH2g8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Members of the House majority on Wednesday defended the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte from claims by Vice President Sara Duterte that it was a case of “state kidnapping”.</p>

Members of the House majority on Wednesday defended the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte from claims by Vice President Sara Duterte that it was a case of “state kidnapping”.