The Power of Social Media – Influencing the Focus of Legal Discussions
21 April, 2025
It is indisputable that social media is a powerful tool for influencing people’s lives. Filipinos are some of the heaviest social media users in the world, and the influence of social media in the Philippines is unquestionable. This has become more evident in recent weeks after the controversial arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (“ICC”).
Since that day, social media has been swamped with various posts discussing the arrest. The camp of former President Duterte has consistently made statements that the arrest was invalid since it violated due process and was issued by a foreign court (i.e. the ICC).
The goal of this article is not to provide a legal opinion on the validity of the arrest, but to analyze the role that social media has played in shaping the discussions. However, to better understand the role of social media, I will play the role of devil’s advocate and show an alternative legal perspective. Please note that I do not intend to make a legal determination, as I believe that this is something for the courts of law to decide.
Background
The following are the significant events that led to the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila.
December 28, 2000: The Republic of the Philippines signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute). The ratification of the Rome Statute by then President Benigno Aquino III was concurred by the Senate, in compliance with Sec. 21, Art. VII of the Constitution, on 23 August 2011.[1]
August 30, 2011: The Philippines “acceded to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court when it deposed its instrument of ratification at the United Nations in New York.”[2]
April 2017: A complaint was filed before the ICC against former President Duterte, alleging crimes against humanity, citing “continuing mass murder” in the Philippines starting from the time that he was the mayor of Davao City.[3]
February 2018: Malacañang announced that the ICC would start its “preliminary examination” on the alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines under Duterte’s war on drugs.[4]
March 17, 2018: Duterte announced that the Philippines would withdraw from the Rome Statute and deposited a written notification of withdrawal from the Statute with the UN Secretary General.[5]
June 2021: The ICC Prosecutor requested publicly to open an investigation into crimes committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, focusing on allegations of murder as a crime against humanity through the so-called “war on drugs” campaign throughout the Philippines in 2016 to 2019, and earlier in the Davao region (2011-2016).[6]
March 7, 2025: The ICC issued a warrant of arrest.[7]
March 11, 2025: Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by police officers, acting on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over his war on drugs, shortly after he arrived in the Philippines from Hong Kong.[8]
Discussion
On the same day of the arrest, a multitude of posts appeared on social media platforms alleging that former President Duterte was essentially deprived of due process, since the warrant of arrest was issued not by Philippine courts but by a foreign court (i.e. the ICC) and was therefore in violation of Duterte’s constitutional right against unlawful arrest. Over the days and weeks after the arrest, there were social media posts from both Duterte supporters as well as the Marcos administration addressing these issues. These issues of due process and access to the courts were raised in Senate hearings and press releases from lead agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Philippine National Police. There were also several posts from legal practitioners on these points.
As a practicing lawyer, I am fascinated by how the discussion of the issue of constitutional right to due process and access to Philippine courts has evolved. However, I am surprised to see that a lot of legal professionals have fallen into the trap of discussing the issue based on how social media has painted the picture. They claim that due process was denied because the warrant of arrest was issued by a foreign court and that the Philippine Constitution requires that the warrant of arrest be issued by Philippine courts. However, I believe that the matter requires a broader look at applicable legal principles.
An examination of the Philippine legal system reveals that the sources of Philippine law are the following:
The Philippine Constitution
Statutes
Treaties and conventions
Judicial decisions of the Supreme Court
As previously discussed, the Rome Statute is a treaty to which the Philippines became a signatory through the agreement of the President of the Republic of the Philippines and ratification by the Philippine Senate. Thus, the Rome Statute became part of the Philippine legal system. Since the Rome Statute is part of Philippine law, this arguably makes the ICC a special court recognized by Philippine law.
On the issue of due process, procedural due process requires that there should be notice (to be informed of the charge) and a hearing (opportunity to present his/her side). It cannot be denied that former President Duterte was made aware that the investigation was initiated as shown by the fact that Malacañang announced in early 2018 that the ICC would start its “preliminary examination” on the alleged extrajudicial killings in the Philippines under Duterte’s war on drugs, and that the Philippines would not cooperate with the investigation. Could this not be taken as the notice and the waiver of the right to explain by choosing not to participate?
Conclusion
As we have seen, there are legal arguments that need to be resolved by appropriate bodies, looking at legal principles rather than those arguments being played out on social media.
It is admirable that people share their ideas on social media and encourage discourse. However, we need to be careful not to fall into the trap of only focusing on issues that have been discussed on social media, but instead look at issues through a more comprehensive perspective. It may be that human nature makes all of us vulnerable to addressing issues presented to us head-on, but we need to be more careful in appreciating what we read or see on social media.
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