FACT CHECK: Trillanes did not urge ICC to include Mindanao quake victims in Duterte trial

Claim: Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider the fatalities in the Mindanao quake as among the extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s trial.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The June 14 Facebook post by the page, “Swaktong Balita,” which has a following of 112,000, made the rounds online, garnering more than 9,300 reactions, 2,200 comments, and 200 shares as of writing.

The post claims that Trillanes, along with the relatives of the Duterte drug war victims, is pushing for the inclusion of the victims of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the coast of Saranggani province on June 8, in Duterte’s crimes against humanity case at the ICC. 

The graphic includes a supposed quote from Trillanes: “Mga namatay dahil sa lindol, pwedeng isama natin sa EJK, papanagutin natin ang mga Duterte, ICC na ang bahala.”

(Those who died from the earthquake, we can include them under EJK. We will hold the Dutertes accountable, ICC will take care of it.)

Social media users were quick to believe the false claim, criticizing the supposed statement from Trillanes and joking about including other reported deaths in history in the Duterte ICC case.

The facts: Trillanes did not make such a statement, and there are no official records or credible news reports of him supposedly making the claim.

Trillanes, a staunch Duterte critic, has openly admitted in an interview that he helped the independent judicial body gather evidence and facilitate meetings to strengthen the case against the former president. Contrary to the claim, this does not include adding the victims of the Mindanao quake to the case.

Duterte’s ICC case: The claim that those who died in the Mindanao quake can be included in Duterte’s ICC case is highly unlikely because they are not victims of extrajudicial killings, which refer to the deliberate killings of targeted individuals by state actors without formal legal proceedings or due process. 

Additionally, the ICC is specifically mandated with investigating and trying individuals charged with the “gravest crimes of concern to the international community,” which are genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.

Duterte was arrested in March 2025 and was sent to The Hague, Netherlands, to face three counts of crimes against humanity related to his administration’s war on drugs and killings under the Davao Death Squad. Tallies by human rights groups report over 30,000 people were killed in the drug war, many of whom were victims of extrajudicial killings.

In April, the ICC pre-trial chamber confirmed all the charges against Duterte, bringing the case to the trial stage, which is scheduled to begin on November 30.

Sarangani quake: On June 8, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Sarangani province at 7:37 am, rocking many parts of Mindanao and triggering a tsunami warning.

As of Wednesday, June 17, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that the current death toll stands at 68, with 33 people still missing.

The provincial government of Sarangani declared a state of calamity on June 10 as the earthquake damaged public and private infrastructure. (LIST: Ways to help communities affected by magnitude 7.8 Mindanao earthquake)

The government has mobilized relief and recovery initiatives, with the Office of the President releasing P278 million from its Socio-Civic Projects Fund to help affected local government units. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also said that the government will provide cash aid worth P50,000 to each family of victims of the quake.

For the latest updates, follow Rappler’s live thread on the Mindanao earthquake. – Lourence Angelo Marcellana/Rappler.com

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