SC directs Duterte ally to explain false TRO claim

Lawyer Raul Lambino of PDP Laban

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued Raul Lambino a show-cause order after the lawyer and ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte falsely claimed that the high court had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Duterte’s March 11 arrest.

That day, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, another ally of the former president, sought the TRO hours after Duterte’s arrest.

But no TRO was issued, and the chartered plane carrying Duterte departed for The Hague shortly after 11 p.m.

READ: No SC TRO yet prohibiting PH gov’t from cooperating with ICC – lawyer

Before the flight’s departure, Lambino said on Facebook he had received “good news” and an “advisory” that the Supreme Court had granted the TRO, contrary to its resolution the next day, which actually denied the TRO.

On Tuesday, Lambino said, “There was no intention on my part to spread ‘fake news,’ disinformation or misinformation, much less cause public confusion.”

Also on Tuesday, Duterte’s daughter Veronica urged the high court to hold oral arguments on habeas corpus petitions filed by her and other children of the former president.

The Department of Justice had said the consolidated petitions were moot and academic, given that Duterte is now in the custody of the International Criminal Court.

But Veronica, in a motion by former presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo, noted the “transcendental importance” of the case.