In a media interview in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, Oct. 15, she said that the legal issues of former president Rodrigo Duterte are his and the Duterte family to face.

“Pero (But) for me, to go to him (Marcos) and request him on behalf of former president Duterte, no. Because there's no going back sa ginawa nila na rendition (the rendition that they did),” she stressed.

The official once more described the extradition of the former president to The Hague, Netherlands where he has been detained since March for crimes against humanity charges as “government kidnapping.”

"Trabaho niya yun in a sense na inaprubahan niya na hindi niya dapat ginawa bilang isang Pangulo (That’s his job in a sense that he approved it and that he shouldn’t have done as the President),” she pointed out.

The elder Duterte’s interim release bid was denied by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) pre-trial chamber, citing his continuous political influence and that of the remarks made by the Vice President about breaking him out of detention.

This came after the Chamber postponed the Sept. 23 confirmation of charges hearing due to the defense’s claims that the former president is unfit to stand trial.

The former leader will now be examined by independent medical experts to assess his capacity to face the Chamber and attend legal proceedings after his team sought for an indefinite adjournment of the proceedings against him.

The Vice President insisted that her father’s medical ailments are not fabricated and that at 80 years old, he is “fragile” and “ailing.”

While she said she has no idea how the ICC will look at a hypothetical request from the Philippine government to bring the former leader home, the younger Duterte expressed belief that the Court is aware of what’s happening in the country, particularly the Senate resolution that seeks for his house arrest over humanitarian considerations.

Meanwhile, she also shrugged off the disqualification of ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan from her father’s case, saying that what matters is how prepared the defense team is.

“Sa prosecution naman kasi hindi mahalaga kung sino yung prosecutor eh. Kasi pareho lang din naman talaga yung gagawin nila na pag-iimbestiga, pareho lang din yung gagawin nila case build up (In terms of the prosecution, it doesn’t matter who the prosecutor is. They will do the same investigation and case buildup),” she said.

Khan was disqualified due to possible conflict of interest owing to his role in representing alleged drug war victims prior to the actual ICC case.

“So, ang mahalaga talaga is ang preparation ng defense team ni dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa lahat ng mga posibleng ilabas na witnesses at ebidensya ng prosecution (So, what’s important is the preparation of the defense of former president Rodrigo Duterte versus all the possible witnesses and evidence the prosecution will use),” she added.

Best person to ask

The Vice President, however, shared that she hasn’t spoken to her father for a long time, and that youngest sister Veronica is the best person to ask about him now. Her uncle—Bong Duterte—is also the one visiting her father in The Hague now.

“Matagal na kami hindi nagkausap. Matagal na siya hindi tumatawag sa akin (I haven’t talked to him for a long time. He hasn’t called me for quite some time),” the younger Duterte said.