Claim: Former President Rodrigo Duterte has been allowed to return to the Philippines by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The post bearing the false claim has garnered 340 shares and 208 reactions as of writing. The Facebook page that posted the claim, “Partido Local,” appears to impersonate a media organization with a display photo containing the words “breaking news.”
A supposed TV Patrol graphic with the headline “ICC pinayagan ng umuwi ng Pilipinas si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte” is attached to the post. (ICC allowed former president Rodrigo Duterte to return home to the Philippines.)
A link to what appears to be the full news article is also included in the caption and comments of the post.
The facts: Duterte is still detained in the ICC’s facility in The Hague, Netherlands. In fact, five days after the false claim circulated, the international court in a June 9 decision rejected the former president’s request to disqualify the judges in his ongoing case. (READ MORE: Judges won’t recuse in Duterte case, victims plead ICC is their only hope)
As of writing, the ICC has not yet ruled on the Duterte camp’s petition to junk the case on the basis of no jurisdiction. A request for interim release has also been eyed as another option to cut the former president’s detention time, but his defense is still working on it.
The TV Patrol graphic and article used in the post are also fake, with no such claims appearing on the newscast’s Facebook page or ABS-CBN News’ website.
Furthermore, URL checker urlscan.io shows that the supposed link to the full news article about Duterte’s release instead leads to a product page from an online shopping site.
Duterte’s detention: The former president has been held at an ICC facility in the Netherlands since March, where he is awaiting trial for charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs.
The hearing for Duterte’s confirmation of charges is slated for September 23, 2025. Based on historical patterns analyzed by Rappler, the former president may need to wait in detention for anywhere from three to seven years before a verdict is made. (READ MORE: How long will Duterte stay detained at the ICC?)
Previous fact-checks: Rappler has debunked other false claims about Duterte’s ICC case:
- FACT CHECK: Duterte not back in PH with the help of Chiz Escudero
- FACT CHECK: ‘TV Patrol’ social media card claiming Duterte’s return to PH is fake
- FACT CHECK: Hong Kong video of Duterte misused to claim release from ICC detention
- FACT CHECK: Duterte’s ICC case is ongoing, no ruling on release
- FACT CHECK: Duterte not released from ICC detention
– Shay Du/Rappler.com
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