📸 Screengrab from Manny Piñol facebook page
* Slam BBM for handing over FPRRD to International Criminal Court Rodrigo Roa Duterte, the Mayor-President, had been delivered by the present administration on board a private jet chartered by the Office of the President to the International Criminal Court at the Hague, Netherlands.
The former President was arrested Tuesday by a team of police operatives headed by CIDG Chief Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre who whisked him away the moment he exited from the plane and held him at the Villamor Airbase.
Duterte arrived at the NAIA International Airport after joining a thanksgiving event with the Overseas Filipino Workers in Hongkong. He was arrested on the strength of a Warrant of Arrest according to Malacanang and the PNP.
Davaoeños fumed and were emotional as they watched the live broadcast of former President Duterte boarding the private aircraft en route to The Hague, Netherlands.
From all over the City supporters of the embattled leader began assembling for a candle-lighting ceremony and prayer at Rizal Park.
Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr. and the members of the 20th City Council led the ceremony and offered prayers for peace in solidarity with former President Duterte. He encouraged others to do the same, emphasizing the power of prayer during these trying times.
Similar activities quickly and simultaneously occurred all over Mindanao towns and cities where huge crowd converged for prayer rallies and candle ceremonies. Muslims, Christians and the indigenous tribes have joined hands and denounced the Marcos adminstration for handling over Duterte to a foreign authority. The crowd up to press time maintained vigil while monitoring the condition of the first Mindanaoan who was elected President.
In Tuesday’s regular session of the Davao City Council, Councilor Pilar Braga the Committee on Education, Culture and Arts, and Science and Technology chairman,recalled the former Chief Executive’s leadership in her privileged speech.
Braga described the longest reigning Mayor of Davao City who later was elected President, as a leader who stepped up during the time of national disorder when the country faced the threat of terrorism and becoming a narco-state. She stressed that Duterte made difficult decisions to combat syndicated crime, corruption and established stable peace and order in the country.
“He knew this day would come, but he did it because loving one’s countrymen above self, above family, was his destiny. He stood for us again and again. Now is the time for us to stand for him. Let us protect FPRRD. Let us protect him at all costs,” Braga said in an emotional speech.
Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, son of the former Chief Executive, slammed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. following his father’s arrest on Tuesday in connection with alleged crimes against humanity.
He called his father’s arrest a political maneuver of the administration to divert the public’s attention from the 2025 national budget issue. He said the administration thinks that the scandal spawned by the unconstitutionality of the General Appropriation Act which the Supreme Court is now prying, will be diverted with the arrest of his father.
The Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HTL) criticized the ICC, stating that the lack of due process and the Philippines’ non-membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC) raised serious doubts about the legitimacy of the arrest and dubbed it a “grave miscarriage of justice.”
HTL accused the Marcos administration of using it as a political distraction from corruption and poverty. HTL argued that the administration’s actions aim to silence critics and hide the truth, leaving Filipinos to suffer from poor leadership, economic hardship and social inequality.
“This isn’t just a political argument — it’s an attack on the core of our democracy,” the party said in a statement, urging Filipinos to unite and demand accountability, transparency, and action against poverty and corruption.
Former President Duterte was taken into custody amid an ongoing political dispute between the Duterte and Marcos camps. His legal team and political supporters challenged the legitimacy of the national budget, citing alleged irregularities.
