Two main figures in the Duterte clan suffered double setbacks within a few days in April 2026, when the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, the Netherlands, affirmed the jurisdiction of the ICC over the crimes against humanity case against the former president, while the Philippines’ Lower House’s Committee on Justice exposed bank transactions in the billions of pesos of Vice President Sara Duterte, Rodrigo’s daughter, in the course of impeachment proceedings against her.
The Makabayan bloc in the Lower House composed of ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co and Gabriela party-list Rep. Sarah Elago said that the Dutertes suffering a “double whammy” indicates that accountability is coming for the two.
The five-member ICC Appeals Chamber rejected the defense’s appeal to nullify the court’s jurisdiction over Duterte’s case. Rodrigo Duterte was charged with three counts of murder as an indirect co-perpetrator in the killings under the “drug war” implemented during his term of office as mayor of Davao City and then as president until March 2019, when the Philippines withdrew from the ICC.
Human rights lawyer Maria Sol Taule said that ICC’s ruling is a major win for the victims and it will bring the victims’ long struggle for justice closer to accountability.
The ICC Appeals Chamber’s decision paved the way for the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber to declare on the next day the Confirmation of Charges against Rodrigo Duterte. The Chamber reiterated the earlier finding that there are substantial grounds to believe that Duterte was responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder, committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019 while the Philippines was a member of the ICC.
In the Philippines, at the House of Congress’s Committee on Justice, different government offices and individuals submitted documents and testimonies, with allegations on the Vice President’s unexplained wealth and that she failed to fully disclose her assets in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
Karen Batu of the Ombudsman’s Central Records Division confirmed Rep. Terry Ridon’s earlier statement that the Sara Duterte’s net worth from 2007 to 2024 rose by 1,000 percent, or from P7.2 million to P88.51 million.
Ronel Buenaventura, Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director, said that they saw 630 covered transactions and 33 suspicious transactions, totaling to P6.77 billion, that were made by the Vice President and her family. About P4.4 billion flowed into the accounts, P1.5 billion were transferred out, and around P791 million could not be classified as an inflow or outflow.
Buenaventura also confirmed that all of the 18 financial transactions randomly-picked by Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima from the documents provided by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV matched their records.
If the impeachment passes in the House of Representatives, it will be submitted to the Senate for judgement.