Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian ‘Baste’ Duterte has filed a disbarment complaint against Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, and two other officials from the Department of Justice over their role in the handover of his father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The complaint, prepared by lawyer Israelito Torreon, was filed at the Supreme Court on Thursday, October 2.
Torreon, who also represents detained preacher Apollo Quiboloy, said the case was prompted by the officials’ participation in serving the ICC arrest warrant against Duterte when he was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11 after arriving from Hong Kong.
Also named in the complaint were Prosecutor General Anthony Fadullon and DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Ty, both of whom were present when the warrant was enforced.
Officials respond. Remulla dismissed the disbarment complaint as unsurprising.
‘It is expected… 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 Thursday.
Fadullon said he has yet to receive the complaint.
‘I have not formally received a copy of the disbarment complaint for me to give any comment on the basis thereof. I have to see the allegations first before I can intelligently comment on the same,’ he told Philstar.com.
Earlier complaints. On September 15, Sebastian Duterte, through Torreon, also filed criminal and administrative charges against Remulla and other officials before the Office of the Ombudsman, again citing the former president’s arrest.
The case comes despite Remulla’s recent clearance from the Ombudsman, which allowed his inclusion in the shortlist for the position of Ombudsman.