Supreme Court Issues Show-Cause Order vs. Duterte Lawyer

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 8, announced it had issued a show-cause order against lawyer Raul Lambino for publicly claiming that the high tribunal stopped the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in March.

In its April 2 session, the Court En Banc directed Lambino to explain within 10 days of receiving notice why he should not face administrative sanctions for spreading false information.

The Court cited a March 11 Facebook video in which Lambino said he was informed the Court had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Duterte’s arrest via a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“The Supreme Court En Banc has given Atty. Raul Lambino 10 days within which to show cause why he should not face administrative action for spreading false information,” the Court said in a social media post on Tuesday.

“In a Facebook Live broadcast on March 11, 2025, Atty. Lambino falsely claimed that the Supreme Court had issued a TRO against the arrest of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte. This caused public confusion and misled the people about the Supreme Court’s actions,” it added.

Under Canon II (Propriety) of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, lawyers must uphold the dignity of the legal profession in social media interactions and promote public confidence in the legal system.

Section 38 of the same Code states that “a lawyer shall not knowingly or maliciously post, share, upload or otherwise disseminate false or unverified statements, claims, or commit any other act of disinformation.”

On the morning of March 11, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), assisted by the Philippine National Police, served the ICC warrant at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City after Duterte returned from a political event in Hong Kong.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. later said the arrest was based on compliance with obligations to Interpol and not the ICC, which the Philippines officially withdrew from in 2018 under Duterte, with the exit becoming effective in 2019.

Lambino, a senatorial candidate under Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP) slate in the 2025 elections, is among the former president’s counsels who filed a petition with the Supreme Court to stop the arrest.

Despite Lambino’s claim that a TRO was issued, Duterte was flown out of the country on the evening of March 11.

He arrived at the ICC detention center in The Hague, Netherlands, and appeared before the court on March 14 to face allegations of crimes against humanity related to killings during his term as Davao City mayor and under the “war on drugs” during his presidency.