Vice President Sara Duterte lambasted the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday, March 20, for allowing the arrest of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, on the basis of a foreign tribunal warrant.
Vice President Sara Duterte addresses the supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte who gather at The Hague during the initial appearance of her father before Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC). (Photo courtesy of Ryan Ang via Keith Bacongco)
The Vice President raised questions on the constitutionality of her father’s arrest last March 11 during the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs’ hearing about the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has charged the former president with crimes against humanity of murder in relation to his bloody war on drugs campaign.
“Even more disturbing is the silence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Why did the AFP stand idly by while a former Commander-in-Chief was taken from a military base under questionable circumstances? How could they allow a foreign tribunal to override on our constitutional guarantees?,” she said.
She also questioned why the Presidential Security Command, a unit under the AFP, allowed her father’s arrest when it was in charge of his protection.
“Because under the law, the Presidential Security Command (a unit under the AFP) is in charge of the security of former presidents. So, bakit nila hinayaan na mangyari ito sa isang dating pangulo ng ating bayan (why did they allow this to happen to a former president)?,” she furthered.
The former president was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 and transferred to the nearby Villamor Airbase, from where a chartered flight to The Hague left with the elder Duterte on the evening of March 11.
Support to PNP
In a statement on the Senate hearing, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. explained the DND and the AFP have no law enforcement mandate.
"Our sole mandate is to give support to the Philippine National Police (PNP) when it asked for. And therefore, such ends our jurisdiction," the secretary said.
"The operation is clearly a law enforcement one, and the PNP has the power to ask the armed forces to assist. And that is the extent of the participation of my department and the AFP. And all other matters in supporting the PNP are governed by operation security," he added.
The Vice President further questioned the “authority” of the Philippine National Police (PNP), who led the arrest of her father on the basis of an ICC warrant sent to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
“Under whose authority did the PNP act? Why did it enforce a foreign warrant without the Philippine court order? Why didn't they at least bring PRRD before a judge as required by the Rome Statute itself?,” she asked.
But several legal experts explained that the Philippine government is not obliged to bring the former president to a local court since it is no longer a member of the ICC after the former president withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019.
The camp of the former president is expected to raise issues on the process of his arrest and the ICC jurisdiction for an appeal to dismiss the case before the Sept. 23 hearing at the ICC.
The younger Duterte also cried foul over the lack of due process in the arrest of her father.
Override
“Even granting for the sake of argument that we have some duty to cooperate with either the ICC or Interpol, does that duty override the fundamental rights of every Filipino enshrined in our Constitution?,” she asked.
“What happened on March 11, 2025, is not just about one man. It is about all of us. It is about the country. If a former president can be taken without due process, what stops them from doing the same to any other Filipino?,” the Vice President added.
The ICC arrest warrant was based on the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-illegal drugs campaign that government records said killed at least 6,200 drug suspects from June 2016 to November 2021.
However, several human rights groups refuted this number and said the actual figure may have reached up to 30,000 due to unreported related killings.
The groups also argued that most of the thousands killed in the name of the elder Duterte’s war on drugs campaign were extrajudicial killings, which meant a lack of legal and due process.
“We have now lost a former president. I pray that we do not lose the country next,” the Vice President, who has been staying in The Hague since her father’s arrival there, said.
Political persecution
Addressing the senators, in particular presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos, the official accused the government of political persecution.
“Alam naman natin lahat, at alam nila na mali ang ginawa nila. Ginawa nila iyon (We all know that what they did was wrong. They did it) just to demolish political opponents. This is all about politics. The administration is using government resources, the ICC, to demolish the opposition,” she stressed.
“Ang tanong ngayon, ano ang gagawin natin para maibalik ang dating Pangulo sa Pilipinas? Kasi, nag-iisa ako ngayon dito na gumagawa ng paraan para maibalik ang ating dating Pangulo sa ating bayan (The question now, what can we do to bring the former president back to the Philippines? Because I am alone here now doing ways to bring the former president back to our country),” the Vice President lamented.