Duterte supporters call on SC to act on pending petitions

Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte held a protest rally before the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday, hours before his confirmation of charges hearing at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Wendell Cabrera, the convenor of the DDS Sara All Confederation, said they will submit a letter to the High Court with over a million signatures asking the SC to act on pending petitions seeking Duterte’s return.

“We feel that the SC right now is the last bastion of sanity in this government. Wala na tayong ibang choice ngayon at saka pag-asa ngayon eh. It’s just the SC, eh. And we are very happy that people behind this building… are doing their job very well. We are praying,” he said in an ambush interview.

Following the former president’s arrest in March 2025 and subsequent transfer to the ICC, Duterte and Senator Ronald Dela Rosa asked the SC to prohibit the Philippine government from cooperating with the ICC and Interpol.

The petitions filed by Duterte's  children — Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, and Davao City Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte — are also still pending. They recently argued that their petition is not moot.

Cabrera said a “grave injustice” was done to the former official.

“There is a grave injustice that was done to the former President Rodrigo Duterte. He was illegally kidnapped and handed over to a foreign country without  submitting him to local courts,” Cabrera said.

He also said that the signature campaign was done without the support of a big politician. 

“So that’s why people on the ground, no, without the initiative— without the support of big politicians, no, these are grassroots people right now who are taking this initiative… to initiate a signature campaign,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cabrera said it is only a coincidence that they are submitting the letter on the first day of Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing at the ICC. He said they started gathering signatures since last year.

The ICC Prosecutor has charged the former President with 49 incidents of murder and attempted murder while implementing his anti-narcotics campaign, “although the actual scale of victimization during the charged period was significantly greater.”

Based on government records, around 6,200 drug suspects were killed during the Duterte administration's anti-drug operations. Human rights organizations, however, say that the number may reach 30,000 due to the unreported related killings.—AOL, GMA Integrated News