Kitty Duterte asks SC anew to resolve pending Rodrigo Duterte petitions

Amid the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued against Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, the camp of Veronica “Kitty” Duterte on Tuesday again asked the Supreme Court (SC) to resolve the pending petitions seeking the return of former President Rodrigo Duterte to the Philippines from the ICC.

In a 13-page motion to resolve, Kitty noted that 14 months have passed without substantive action from the High Court, and almost six months since their first urgent motion to resolve.

“Respectfully, the continued inaction of this Honorable Court on the petitions, now extending far beyond any reasonable period, undermines the writ and effectively denies the very liberty it seeks to protect,” she said in her motion to resolve.

“It also erodes public trust in the Judiciary’s role as the ultimate guardian of constitutional rights. It almost amounts to a de facto suspension of the privilege of the writ, far more alarming than any formal suspension permitted under the Constitution,” Duterte’s daughter added.

The former President was arrested in March 2025 by virtue of an arrest warrant from the ICC over his war on illegal drugs. He was flown to The Hague where he has been detained since then.

The older Duterte is now facing charges of alleged crimes against humanity in connection with the killings in his anti-narcotics campaign.

In separate petitions filed in March 2025, Kitty and her half-brothers Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte asked the SC to order the government to present Duterte.

She also cited Senate Resolution No. 44, which she said expresses the sense of the Senate to safeguard all Filipinos from extrajudicial rendition.

Kitty said the resolution provides legislative validation of the grave constitutional violations complained of in the consolidated petitions.

To recall, Dela Rosa stopped attending Senate hearings for six months starting November 2025 amid reports of an alleged ICC arrest warrant against him.

He surfaced at the upper chamber on Monday as senators voted for a change in leadership ahead of the possible transmittal of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte.

Dela Rosa was chased by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) while inside the Senate building. Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV later revealed that the NBI has a copy of the ICC warrant.

The senator is currently under the protective custody of the Senate.

“With utmost respect, the chaotic events in the Senate yesterday are a direct and regrettable consequence of this Honorable Court’s prolonged inaction on the consolidated petitions,” the younger Duterte said.

“The Executive and its agents have shamelessly capitalized on the Court’s continued silence to perpetrate once again the very same grave constitutional violations complained of by petitioners, all for purely political events,” she added. — JMA, GMA News