BEHIND bars in The Hague, former president Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte has urged Filipinos to remain calm and restraint amid growing political tension over the May 12 midterm elections.
Defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman relayed Duterte’s message during his interview with vloggers and Filipino journalists outside the detention center in the Netherlands where the 80-year old former chief executive is being held since last month pending the trial on the crimes of humanity case filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
A clip of the exchange was posted by former Malacañang spokesperson and Duterte ally Harry Roque in his social media account Wednesday night.
“He appealed, he asks for calm and restraint. He knows that there are elections in the offing. He knows that the people are very interested in his welfare,” Kaufman said.
He said the former president also appealed to his supporters to respect the ICC judicial process.
He added that Duterte understands that some of his supporters could get over-excited and not respect the ICC proceedings.
“He knows that there is a tendency perhaps for people to get excited and not to respect the judicial process. He insists that the judicial process be respected, that there be no interference in that at all,” Kaufman said.
Protest actions were mounted in the Philippines and abroad in the wake of Duterte’s arrest last March 11, accusing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of turning his back on his predecessor by handing him to the custody of the ICC despite Manila’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute that created the international tribunal in 2019.
One such protest action in Qatar led to the detention of 17 Filipinos by Qatari authorities.
Malacañang has defended its move, saying the country just complied with its commitment to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to arrest and hand Duterte to the ICC based on its arrest warrant .
The 80-year old Duterte is set to face the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber for the second time since his detention on September 23 for the confirmation of the charges against him.
His camp said they would be filing a motion to call for his interim release before that date.
