Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks about breaking her father out of detention was one of the reasons cited by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) pre-trial chamber when it denied former president Rodrigo Duterte’s interim release application.

In a 23-page decision made public on Friday, Oct. 10, Judges Iulia Antoanella Motoc, Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, and María del Socorro Flores Liera rejected the defense camp’s initial and renewed request for interim release and ordered the “continued detention” of the former president.

The pre-trial chamber noted two instances wherein the Vice President made remarks about breaking her father out of detention and his desire to go home to Davao City should he be granted temporary release from the ICC’s detention facility.

“More specifically, the Chamber notes that, on 19 July 2025 Mr. Duterte’s daughter mentioned in public speeches the idea of breaking Mr. Duterte out of the ICC Detention Centre, and attempted to delegitimise the Court’s proceedings against Mr. Duterte, citing collusion between the Court and the government of the Philippines as well as the use of ‘fake witnesses’,” the decision read.

“Furthermore, the Chamber notes that Mr. Duterte’s daughter allegedly indicated on 19 August 2025 that Mr. Duterte had told her that he wishes to return to Davao City, should he be granted interim release, in contradiction with the Defence’s assertion that he would remain in the State he would be released to.”

“The foregoing illustrates Mr. Duterte’s rejection of the proceedings against him before the Court, and the will of his close family to help him elude detention and prosecution,” it added.

The former president was last seen via an initial pre-trial hearing in March, two days after he was extradited there on the basis of an ICC warrant of arrest.

He was expected to face the confirmation of charges hearing against him scheduled last Sept. 23, but the pre-trial chamber suspended the proceedings after the defense said the former president was unfit to stand trial.

The defense is also seeking the “indefinite adjournment” of all legal proceedings against the elder Duterte, arguing that he is suffering from cognitive deterioration and that he has now difficulties recalling events, dates, and family members.

This runs contrary to the Vice President’s claims that her father had recently made comments about the Philippine situation, including the massive flood control corruption scandal.

Meanwhile, defense lead counsel Atty. Nicholas Kaufman said that the “Defence considers this decision erroneous” and that it has filed an appeal a week ago.

The decision was dated Sept. 26.

“Were this a conventional domestic court - with more than one active first instance case in its docket - I believe that there would have been no hesistation to release an 80 year old sick and weak man, kept from the public for more than half a year, and for whom unprecedented State guarantees had been provided,” the lawyer said in a statement.

“But this is a Court where civil society activist lawyers have free reign in the media to accuse the former President’s supporters of judicial trolling, to lambast Defence submissions and to file frivolous petitions to sanction counsel. We hope that the Appeals Chamber will reverse this decision,” Kaufman added.

The former president is facing crimes against humanity of murder charges for the alleged state-sponsored killing of thousands of Filipinos in the name of his brutal war on drugs campaign.