The youngest son of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has filed criminal charges against four cabinet secretaries and several senior officials, accusing them of “kidnapping” his father and spiriting him to The Hague to face crimes against humanity charges before the International Criminal Court.
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But legal scholars and political insiders contend the case is a thinly veiled attempt by the Duterte camp to derail the appointment of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla as the country’s next ombudsman – a position with the power to decide the fate of corruption complaints against Duterte’s daughter, Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Sebastian Duterte, the acting mayor of Davao City, lodged the complaint on Monday, naming Remulla; Interior Secretary Juan Victor Remulla; Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jnr; National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano; former police chief General Nicolas Torre; his predecessor General Rommel Marbil; and former police spokeswoman Brigadier General Jean Fajardo.
The complaint accuses them of kidnapping, arbitrary detention, direct assault, usurpation of judicial functions and corruption, all in connection with the former president’s abrupt transfer to the Netherlands in March.
Though the Duterte family has publicly blamed President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr for sanctioning the handover, he is conspicuously absent from the complaint – a reflection of the constitutional immunity granted to sitting Philippine presidents.
Legal experts are sceptical about the merits of the case. Barry Gutierrez, a criminal law professor at the University of the Philippines, said the chances of the case progressing further were “close to zero”.
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He argued that the complaint’s true objective was to “disqualify [Justice] ‘Boying’ Remulla from getting appointed” as ombudsman – a post that would grant Remulla oversight of pending cases against Vice-President Duterte-Carpio.