The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed complaints against lawyer Raul Lambino and Duterte Youth party-list chair Ronald Cardema for allegedly spreading false information about a supposed Supreme Court order halting the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
According to the NBI’s Intelligence Service, Lambino and Cardema publicly claimed that the Supreme Court had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to block the enforcement of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against Duterte. The bureau clarified, however, that while a petition had been filed, the High Court had not issued any such order.
Lambino allegedly made the claim during a Facebook Live broadcast on March 11, while Cardema echoed similar statements in a media interview. Though Cardema did not post the remarks on his own social media accounts, his statements were circulated widely through other Facebook pages.
Authorities said the dissemination of this false information, particularly during a volatile time, risked misleading the public and undermining law enforcement efforts. Both individuals were charged under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes the unlawful use of publication or utterances that could endanger public order.
Lambino and Cardema have both denied wrongdoing and criticized the complaints as politically motivated. Lambino described the case as harassment against critics of the administration, while Cardema insisted he merely relayed information from publicly available news updates.