A viral Facebook reel is claiming that Philippine government officials transferred US$100 million to the International Criminal Court for the release of the warrant of arrest against former president Rodrigo Duterte. The claim has no basis.
The clip posted on June 5 shows a vlogger reacting to a soundbite from an unknown source saying:
“…[m]ismong si Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co na may hawak ng budget ng Pilipinas ang ang naghatid sa ICC ng nakakalulang $100 million na winithdraw sa Bank of the Netherlands isang linggo bago ang isinagawang pag-aresto kay dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.”
(… [i]t was Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co himself, who holds the budget of the Philippines, that delivered a whopping $100 million to the ICC withdrawn from the Bank of the Netherlands one week before the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte.)
Co chaired the House Committee on Appropriations until he stepped down in January this year, making him one of the figures who oversaw the process of passing the 2025 General Appropriations Bill into law.
However, neither the appropriations committee chair nor any legislator has direct access to the funds for appropriated line items in the budget.
Read the full story on VERA Files Fact Check.