Who is Retrina Fuentes, the judge behind arrest orders vs Duterte critics?

• Veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. was arrested on October 24 over a cyber libel case filed by lawyer Mans Carpio, husband of Vice President Sara Duterte.
• Lustre was detained for nearly a day before posting bail and is known for his book on extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, while he plans to release a new book amid the Vice President's impeachment trial.

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Veteran journalist Philip Lustre Jr. was arrested on Saturday, October 24, over a cyber libel case filed by an unidentified complainant at the time. It was Davao City Presiding Judge Retrina Espe Fuentes who issued the warrant of arrest.

On Monday, October 26, Lustre’s lawyer, Dino de Leon, told Rappler that it was lawyer Mans Carpio — husband of Vice President Sara Duterte — who was the complainant in Lustre’s case.

Based on the Supreme Court’s (SC) tracker, Fuentes is currently the presiding judge of Davao City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10. The court is located in Benigno Aquino Hall of Justice, in Matina, Davao City.

Fuentes was Davao City’s 1st vice executive judge in 2016, according to the Philippine Judicial Academy Bulletin. At the time, Presiding Judge Emmanuel Carpio was sitting as executive judge.

Presiding Judge Carpio is the uncle of Mans Carpio. In her 2024 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth, Vice President Duterte listed Emmanuel Carpio as her uncle-in-law.

At the time of Fuentes’ appointment as 1st vice executive judge, Rodrigo Duterte was president, while his daughter Sara was Davao City mayor during that period.

Based on SC Office of the Court Administrator’s Administrative Order No. 231-2022, Fuentes became Davao City’s executive judge on November 1, 2022 under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The Fraternal Order of Saint Thomas More in Davao City posted a congratulatory message after Fuentes’ appointment. She held the position from 2022 to 2024, according to SC spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting.

“Davao Regional Trial Court Executive Judge is now Judge Rowena M. Apao Adlawan,” said Ting.

According to the SC’s AM No. 03-8-02-SC, the Court may appoint executive judges and vice executive judges in stations where there are more than two RTC branches. Their appointment will be based on their administrative qualifications, experience, and seniority, among others.

“The Executive Judge shall take charge of the administrative work of the Supreme Court in all first and second level courts. The Executive Judge derives his/her powers and prerogatives through delegation by the Supreme Court,” said the order.

Lustre’s arrest

Lustre, the 72-year-old veteran journalist was attending the Saturday News Forum event in Quezon City when Quezon City police from the Quezon City Police District arrested him.

After nearly a day in detention, he was able to post a P48,000-bail at past midnight on Sunday, October 25.

Lustre is the author of the book, “Kill, Kill, Kill: Extrajudicial Killings in the Philippines.” It’s about former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs that killed nearly 30,000 people, according to several human rights groups. Duterte is now detained in The Hague, Netherlands over his crimes against humanity case that stemmed from the said campaign.

After his release from temporary detention, Lustre said he is scheduled to release a new book titled, “MISFIT SARA Life and Times of Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio; The Impeachment Trial of a Filipino Vice President.” The Vice President is currently in the middle of her impeachment trial that could remove her from the position and bar her from running for president in 2028.

The information sheet against Lustre reads: “The above-named accused, with deliberate intent, willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously, through his Facebook account under the name ‘Philip Jr. Lustre,’ published and posted written statements, thereby making an imputation of a crime against Atty. Manases R. Carpio, a private individual and on the said date, was actually residing in Davao City, through the internet using the social networking platform called ‘Facebook.com,’ by saying: ‘Sumuka si Mans Carpio ng P300-M sa operasyon ng Marines: P150M kay Mike; P50M kay Levi; at P5M sa bawat isa sa 18 Marines?‘ which published statement, taken in its plain, natural, and ordinary meaning, directly imputes upon Atty. Manases R. Carpio, the commission of a crime, specifically bribery or corrupt.”

Bello’s case

Fuentes was also the judge who signed the warrant of arrest against another Duterte critic and former vice presidential candidate, Walden Bello.

In 2022, at the height of the campaign season, former Davao City public information officer Jefry Tupas filed a cyber libel complaint against Bello. Tupas was seeking P10 million in damages after being allegedly accused by Bello on social media of being a drug addict and dealer.

Duterte’s aide was embroiled in a controversy in 2021 after attending a beach party in Mabini, Davao de Oro that was later raided by anti-narcotics agents. The operation supposedly happened an hour after Tupas and companions had left the party. 

On August 8, 2022, QCPD personnel arrested Bello over a warrant issued by Fuentes for two counts of cyber libel. He was later freed after posting a P48,000-bail for each of the counts.

Bello, at the time, labeled Tupas’ case as “clearly a politically-motivated move.”

The following year, Bello filed a petition with the SC seeking to decriminalize libel in the Philippines.

In February this year, the former vice presidential bet issued an apology to Tupas, saying his statements were “unfounded.”

Other cases handled

In 2019, Fuentes was the judge who ordered the arrest of Italian Lorenzo Marchesi, who was 57 years old at the time. He was ordered arrested over alleged possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.

Marchesi was arrested after a search of his electronic devices allegedly revealed a collection of illegal materials.

Last September, Fuentes was the same judge who issued a warrant of arrest against a man wanted for rape. She issued the warrant on September 2, 2026.

“The accused, identified only by the alias ‘Abdul,’ was properly informed of the cause of his arrest and apprised of his constitutional rights, including his rights under Republic Act No. 9745, or the Anti-Torture Act of 2009, in a language or dialect known to and understood by him,” said the PNP.

“The arrested person was identified as a top 3 most wanted person, municipal level, under the PNP e-warrant system,” it added. – Rappler.com