A Facebook (FB) post is claiming that bail has been paid for former president Rodrigo Duterte, prompting the International Criminal Court (ICC) to release him more than a month after he was surrendered to its custody for crimes against humanity. This is satire.
An April 16 post sent by a reader for verification through VERA Files’ Messenger Misinformation Tipline read:
“I-rerelease na ng ICC si Tatay D. Mahina ang kaso at meron ng nagpyansa sa kanya. Ang problema, ayaw ng Hague dahil babagsak uli tourism nila”
(ICC is releasing [Duterte]. The case against him is weak and someone already bailed him out The problem is the Hague doesn’t want to release him because their tourism will crash.)
In a reply to a comment on the post, the publisher disclosed it is satire. There has been no announcement from the ICC about Duterte’s release.
Its most recent announcement regarding the former Philippine leader was on April 18 where the court gave the prosecution until July 1, 2025 to disclose all the evidence it will use for Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing.
The claim that someone already posted bail for Duterte is also not true. Under the Rome Statute, there is no bail in the ICC as defined by domestic law. There is only an “interim release” for which an accused can apply pending proceedings.
In a March 17 interview on ANC, international law expert and De La Salle University College of Law dean Ralph Sarmiento explained:
“As we understand ‘bail’ in domestic law, it is a right. So, as long as the charge is bailable in domestic law, you have a right to bail… either a cash bond or property bond… but in the international court, there is no right to bail, but you can request for interim release pending proceedings.”
On April 1, Duterte’s counsel Nicholas Kaufmann told reporters they are “working on” filing for an interim release but did not reveal when they will submit the application.
Published by FB user Romeo V Poquiz with a following of over 34,000 people and with a history of posting satire, the post has garnered around 3,000 reactions, 200 comments and 137 shares.
