VICE President Sara Duterte yesterday returned to the country from Melbourne, Australia, where she met with supporters last Sunday to call for the release of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained in the Netherlands, where he is being tried by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.
She arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at around 1:10 p.m. via Philippine Airlines flight No. PR 210.
The country’s second-highest elected official is scheduled to attend today’s 2025 Kasarilyan, the Office of the Vice President’s annual pride reception, in San Fernando City, Pampanga.
The Vice President, during the “Free Duterte Now” rally at the Parliament Gardens in Melbourne last Sunday, urged her supporters there to try to convince the Australian government to call for the release of her father, saying he has been losing weight in detention.
Last Monday, the Vice President joined the LGBTQ+ community in celebrating Pride Month, urging the whole nation to protect the rights of the “most vulnerable.”
“To all Filipinos: our democratic principles demand that we protect our most vulnerable. When we safeguard LGBT rights, we reinforce the foundations upon which all our freedoms rest,” she said. “Let us build together a Philippines where diversity is recognized not as incidental, but essential to our national character. Where human dignity needs no justification. Where the courage to face adversity is honored as the highest expression of Filipino resilience.”
