Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte hold a prayer rally at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila on March 15, 2025 to express their support to the former chief executive who was arrested on March 11 on an International Criminal Court warrant over his deadly war on drugs. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday filed complaints against lawyer Raul Lambino and Duterte Youth party-list chairman Ronald Cardema for allegedly spreading false information regarding the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

According to NBI Intelligence Service agent Allein Rey Delfin, both Lambino and Cardema falsely claimed that the Supreme Court had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the implementation of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Duterte.

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“We filed cases against Raul Lambino and Mr. Cardema for violation of Article 154 ng Revised Penal Code, ito ‘yung tinatawag nating unlawful use of means of publication or unlawful utterances,” Delfin said. 

Lambino reportedly made the statement during a Facebook Live broadcast on March 11, where he claimed that a TRO had been granted by the Supreme Court in response to a petition filed by Duterte's legal team.

However, Delfin clarified that while a petition had indeed been filed, no such order had been issued by the High Court. 

“At that point in time, the situation was very volatile... And any interjection of such false news would probably create confusion to the mind of public, which would probably endanger the public order at that time, as well as it will also discredit the agents of the state... in performing their duty of implementing the warrant of arrest.” 

Cardema, meanwhile, made similar claims during a media interview.

Though he did not post the statement on his own social media accounts, the video was widely circulated through other Facebook pages.

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Delfin noted that despite the platform differences, both statements had the same effect of misleading the public.

“Ang pangkaraniwang Pilipino, kapag na-assume natin na tama ang ganung isang news, magke-create siya ng mali ang ginagawa ng ating agents of the state,” he said.

“Ang gagawin nila is, of course, sa pagmamahal nila, is may tendency po na they will disobey, even the law enforcement agencies,” he added.

'POLITICAL HARASSMENT'

Lambino denounced the complaint, calling it “pure political harassment” meant to silence dissenters of the current administration.

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In a phone interview, Lambino said he has yet to see the actual complaint but dismissed it outright as politically motivated.

“I still have to see the actual complaint para masagot ko naman point by point kung ano ‘yung sinasabi ng kanilang complaint,” he said. 

“But suffice it to say for me ngayon na, that is purely political harassment ‘yung kanilang ginagawa.” 

He further alleged that state agencies, including the NBI, are being “weaponized” to intimidate personalities critical of the administration.

“Nagagamit na ‘yung NBI at saka ‘yung ibang agencies of government for political persecution... para mapatigil at mapatahimik ‘yung mga tao o personalidad na hindi kumpirmi sa ginagawa ng kasalukuyang administrasyon,” he added. 

Lambino is also preparing his response to a separate show cause order from the Supreme Court, following his remarks that circulated online.

“Kung meron mang na-offend siguro doon sa aking pinahayag sa Facebook live, it would be the Honorable Supreme Court,” he said. 

Addressing concerns that his statements may have incited unrest, Lambino maintained he had no intention to provoke or organize any anti-government activity.

“I did not invite people to gather or to go against the government,” he clarified. 

“There was no intention for me na ‘oh halika kayo dito, magtipon-tipon tayo at gumawa ng gulo.’ There was no statement like that.”

He added that his intention was to help ease public anxiety during a tense period, especially as crowds began to gather near Villamor Air Base on the day in question.

“Everybody was in such a heated moment... nakita naman natin before that, ang dami-daming tao doon sa Villamor. We were there for the whole afternoon hanggang evening,” Lambino recalled.

Cardema also issued a similar statement and said he was "being harassed by NBI."

"Regarding the so-called TRO of the Supreme Court, that info/news did not come from me, I am not even a petitioner/privy to that info, I just rely on news updates same as the millions of Filipinos," he said.

The NBI has been conducting intensified cyber-patrolling and surveillance to monitor misinformation online. 

They issued a stern warning to content creators and media practitioners to verify their information before publishing or sharing.

“Huwag po tayong magpalaganap ng false news, fake news, at kung anumang information na maaari pong makapag-endanger ng publiko o mag-create ng confusion sa tao na mali ang ginagawa ng estado o ng ating gobyerno," Delfin said.

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