VICE President Sara Duterte said her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, will seek legal aid from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to help pay for his mounting legal fees in the crimes against humanity case against him.
The country’s second highest elected official said she has been speaking with lawyers who will complete her father’s defense team but they have not yet discussed exact figures.
She did not say if the ICC can provide monetary assistance to help pay the legal counsels of the accused, but said British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, who will lead the defense legal team, already knows about it.
“Sa ngauyon ay wala kaming pinag-uusapan na budget pero nagpahiwatig na ako kung pwede mag-apply ng legal aid diyan sa loob ng ICC at patuloy naming pinag- uusapan ito (Right now, we haven’t discussed a budget but I’ve already expressed my intention to apply for legal aid in the ICC and we continue to discuss it),” she told an online press conference.
“Kahapon may meeting kami. ‘Di namin na-take up ang topic ng budget pero alam niya dahil ‘nun isang araw sinabihan ko na siya na malaki posibildad na mag apply kami ng legal aid (Yesterday [Wednesday], we had a meeting. We didn’t take up the topic of budget but he (Kaufman) knows because the other day, I already old him there’s a big possibility that we’ll apply for legal aid),” she added.
The vice president also defended her stay in the Netherlands, saying she does not know yet when she will return to the country because she has a duty to protect a Filipino citizen like her father.
She said she has a duty to bring home a fellow Filipino to the country “who is held against his will here at the ICC detention center.” She also said she has “an obligation to form his support group to help him come out of ICC detention.”
“Huwag na natin isipin na tatay ko siya, isipin na lang natin na as vice president, gumagawa ako ng paraan kung paano maibalik natin ang isang Filipino citizen sa ating bayan (Let’s not consider that he’s my father, let’s just think that as vice president, I’m trying to find ways to bring a Filipino citizen back to our country),” she said, adding that she “perfectly” understands the calls for her to return to the country to perform her duties.
She said also does not want to stay in the Netherlands since her family is the Philippines.
The vice president said that while she has a return ticket for April as a requirement for her travel to The Hague, she still does not know how long she will have to stay there since she is not yet done forming her father’s legal team.
“Mayroon akong return ticket sa April ‘yun dahil kailangan kasi, required kasi bago ka makaaalis. Hindi ko alam hanggang kailan ako dito sa totoo lang dahil ‘di pa nabubuo ang legal team dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte (I have a return ticket, that’s for April, because it’s a requirement before you travel. I don’t know until when I’ll stay here, to tell you the truth because the legal team of former president Rodrigo Duterte is not yet complete),” she said.
The younger Duterte assured the public, including the Executive, that she continues to fulfill her duties and responsibilities while she is abroad, saying she is constantly in touch with her staff in Manila, adding that that the Office of the Vice President now has fewer projects after it was only given a measly P700 million budget for 2025 by Congress.
“Multitasking ako, dito ako as vice president, ginagawan ng paraan paano maibalik ang dating pangulo sa ating bayan at nagtatrabaho ako, through satellite offices… tuloy ang serbisyo para sa bayan. At yes wala po ako balak tumira sa the Netherlands, ‘di ko po gusto tumira dito (I’m multi-tasking here as vice president, I’m trying to find ways to bring back the former president to our country and I’m working through satellite offices so ensure that our public service continues. And yes, I have no plans to live here in the Netherlands, I don’t want to live here),” she said.
The vice president said she does not feel anything, not anger and not even disappointment over what happened to her father, admitting that her father can no longer be brought back to the country since he was already arrested and detained.
“Nothing at all. Kasi pointless naman na mag-harbor ako ng feelings about what happened. Hindi na siya maibabalik. Hindi na mababalik si pangulong Duterte sa Pilipinas (Because it is pointless to harbor feelings about what happened. He cannot be returned. President Duterte cannot be returned to the Philippines),” she said, admitting that their legal options to bring him back home are limited.
“So what we should do as a country is move on from what happened. What will we do as our ways forward as a country and as a people from what happened,” the younger Duterte added.
She said no one will be held accountable for what happened to her father even is she believes that the AFP has accountability for what happened since it has the duty to protect former presidents.
“Sa tingin ko may pananagutan sila dahil ang (I think they have accountability because the) military is the protector of the state and national sovereignty,” she said, stressing that the Presidential Security Group (PSG) has the duty to protect Duterte.
She also refused to call anyone from their ranks a “traitor” after it was reported that someone was leaking information to the government.
“Hindi ko man matawag siguro na traitor, pero sigurado ako sa dami ng tao na ‘yun sa loob ng kwarto na ‘yun ay meron talagang nagsasabi kung ano ang pinag-uusapan doon sa loob (I cannot call someone a traitor but with that many people inside that room, there will be someone who’s going to leak the conversations from inside),” she said.
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Maj. Gen. Nicolas Torre III yesterday said he is not keen on pursuing an obstruction of justice case against former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea.
“We’ll think about it once he returns,” Torre said in Filipino during a television interview, referring to Medialdea who accompanied Duterte to the Netherlands following the latter’s arrest.
“But I think, as of now, I am not really bent on filing that case,” said Torre.
Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last March 11, shortly after arriving from Hong Kong, based on a warrant issued by the ICC.
Duterte was later transferred to the Kalayaan Lounge inside Villamor Air Base where Medialdea reportedly tried to prevent authorities from transporting him to the Netherlands.
“It’s really obstruction of justice… I gave an ultimatum to executive secretary Medialdea to stop preventing us from what we are doing…. He declined so I ordered him arrested,” said Torre.
A video showed Torre ordering one of his men to arrest and handcuff Medialdea during the incident. Torre even read the Miranda rights on him.
PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said the handcuffs were later removed “out of human consideration” and Medlaldea was allowed to accompany Duterte to The Hague.
Last March 13, Torre said Medialdea can be held liable for obstruction of justice. “I have the option actually whether to pursue or not,” he has said.
On social media posts criticizing him for the supposed illegal arrest of Duterte, Torre yesterday said Filipinos are free to express their opinions.
“As long as it is done within the bounds of the law, that’s okay, there is no problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza yesterday expressed disbelief over the continued public support given to Duterte and the policy he used to eliminate illegal drugs during his administration.
In a statement, Alminaza said: “As a pastor, it pains me to acknowledge that some among us continue to support former president Duterte’s campaign of violence, justifying the killings as a solution to the nation’s drug problem.”
“They remain blinded by the false narrative that criminality and drug addiction can be eradicated through death and execution,” he added.
Alminaza said he is hoping that the supporters of Duterte and his allies will evaluate their position on prevailing social issues.
“I pray for them even as I challenge them to rethink their position as some have already done,” said the prelate.
“From the harrowing era of state-sponsored killings that plagued our nation to the recent issuance of an arrest warrant by the ICC against former president Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity stemming from his drug war policy, a glimmer of hope emerges,” he also said. – With Victor Reyes and Gerard Naval
“This development brings a measure of hope and solace to the thousands of families who lost their loved ones during the Duterte regime’s war-on-drugs and war-on-rights, a period marked by impunity and reward-driven killings,” he added.
