ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Ridon reacts to Duterte bloc resolution: Philippines can't bring ex-president back home

Ridon reacts to Duterte bloc resolution: Philippines can't bring ex-president back home

Published Jul 8, 2025 04:45 pm

At A Glance

  • The Philippine government doesn't have the power to bring former president Rodrigo Duterte back home from the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said on Tuesday, July 8.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (Facebook)
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (Facebook)


The Philippine government doesn't have the power to bring former president Rodrigo Duterte back home from the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said on Tuesday, July 8.
Ridon gave this reaction to a resolution filed by Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) senators Robinhood '"Robin" Padilla, Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa, and Christopher "Bong" Go, who sought Duterte's "immediate return" to the Philippines from The Hague in the Netherlands.
The three senators comprise the so-called Duterte bloc in the Senate this 20th Congress.
“Well, I think we have to be very frank na there’s nothing that the Philippine government can do today to bring the former president back home,” Ridon, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines (UP) who studied public policy and business in Harvard University told House reporters in an interview.
“Kasi ho talagang [ICC] na po ‘yung magpapasya kung makakauwi ba o hindi ang dating pangulo (It's really up to the ICC whether or not the former president can return home or not),” he added.
Duterte, 80, was arrested on March 11 after arriving in Manila from Hong Kong, pursuant to an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with the killings committed during his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
He was flown to the ICC detention facility in The Hague the same day and appeared via video conference before ICC judges on March 14. A hearing to confirm the charges is set for Sept. 23.
“To be very clear, meron hong batayan bakit nasa [ICC] si dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte (there's basis for former president Rodrigo Duterte to be held by the ICC). He is being made to answer for extrajudicial killings under the Duterte drug war. So mabigat po ‘yung paratang na ‘yun (So that's a hefty allegation),” Ridon pointed out.
The party-list solon said the Senate resolution, while symbolic, holds no influence over the ICC’s judicial process.
“Of course, they are free, obviously, to do a Senate resolution. But we have to be very frank. It is not within the power of the Philippine government to send the former president back home,” underscored Ridon.
Duterte is the president of the PDP-Laban party.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.