ILOILO City — The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) – Panay Chapter accused Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio and former president Rodrigo Duterte of using political maneuvers and “self-serving narratives” to evade accountability, as the impeachment complaint against the Vice President and the crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) gain traction.
In a strongly worded statement titled “Let Us Not Forget How We Got Here,” NUPL-Panay said the developments on February 18 — Duterte-Carpio’s formal declaration of her 2028 presidential bid and Rodrigo Duterte’s renewed refusal to participate in ICC proceedings — should not distract the public from the core issue of accountability.
“It was quite a day on February 18, 2026 for the Dutertes and their propaganda machinery,” the group said, noting that the Vice President’s presidential announcement came amid an impeachment complaint “relating to corruption issues that have long hounded her.”
NUPL-Panay warned that political realignments ahead of the 2028 elections could weaken efforts to pursue the impeachment case.
“The prospect of Duterte surviving another impeachment attempt and cruising to victory in 2028 may give these politicians — whose loyalties shift like gears at every sharp turn — reason to hedge their bets,” the lawyers’ group said. “The push to hold Sara Duterte accountable for the serious charges against her may be sacrificed in the name of political expediency.”
The group rejected attempts to frame the impeachment proceedings as merely a political feud between rival camps.
“We must reject efforts to portray the impeachment process as simply a grudge match between rival political factions and their cohorts in Congress,” it said. “Surrendering to such a narrative undermines impeachment as an accountability mechanism and, more importantly, denies Filipinos their right to hear the evidence and to learn the truth concerning allegations of massive corruption by those in government.”
On the same day, Rodrigo Duterte issued a statement reiterating his refusal to attend the ICC’s confirmation of charges hearing set on February 23, where prosecutors are expected to present evidence in connection with alleged crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign.
NUPL-Panay said Duterte’s stance was part of a broader effort to cast the former president as a victim.
“Rodrigo Duterte’s disdain for the ICC is hardly new, nor is his argument — one already rejected — that the Court lacks jurisdiction over him,” the group said. “What is painfully obvious in this latest statement is the Duterte camp’s endeavor to present him as a victim.”
The lawyers’ group stressed that “this is an insult to the thousands of Filipinos killed during Duterte’s drug war, to their families who have been denied justice all these years, and to the countless more whose rights were blatantly violated under the Duterte regime.”
“They are the true victims in this story, not Rodrigo Duterte,” it added.
Beyond the high-profile political developments, NUPL-Panay said ordinary Filipinos continue to face worsening economic and social conditions, including chronic poverty, low wages, rising costs of living, displacement of public utility jeepney drivers, privatization of public markets, and the impact of rice liberalization on farmers.
“These crises are not accidental,” the group said. “They are the result of anti-people policies championed not just by the current administration but by all its similarly corrupt predecessors.”
The statement concluded by underscoring that both the impeachment process and the ICC case are rooted in the same principle.
“Whether or not a Duterte-Marcos showdown is coming in two years, and whether or not Rodrigo Duterte graces us with his presence during the ICC hearings, we cannot lose sight of the principle underlying both the impeachment process and the criminal case before the ICC: accountability,” NUPL-Panay said.
“It is not about choosing between the Dutertes and the Marcoses in 2028. It is about demanding that Rodrigo and Sara Duterte answer for what they have done to the Filipino people.” (RJM/PN)
