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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider VP Sara to follow father to The Hague, Netherlands

VP Sara to follow father to The Hague, Netherlands

Published Mar 11, 2025 10:55 pm

Vice President Sara Duterte revealed her plan on Tuesday night, March 11, to follow her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, Netherlands, where he will face trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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Vice President Sara Duterte and former president Rodrigo Duterte (Screenshot from Bong Go, Veronica Duterte Facebook pages)

“Ah, yes. Mayroon na pong arrangements kasi kailangan kong kausapin iyong mga abogado doon. Kung saan man siya dalhin pupunta kami, ako (we already have arrangements because I have to talk to the lawyers there. We will go to wherever he will be brought),” she said when asked by the media at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.

The official explained her father’s counsels will also go to Netherlands, where they will talk about their next legal steps on his arrest for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration’s drug war.

The chartered business jet aircraft carrying Duterte flew out of the Philippines at 11:03 p.m. from the Villamor Airbase. After the ex-president came onboard, former executive secretary and close friend Salvador Medialdea was also seen boarding the plane.

Denied entry

On Tuesday night, Duterte went to the Villamor Airbase, but she was denied entry at Gate 1, according to Office of the Vice President (OVP).

"Kung Pilipino ka hindi ka kailanman susunod sa mga dayuhan sa loob ng sarili mong bayan (If you're a Filipino you'll never follow foreigners in your own country)," she said in a separate statement.

"We are not Filipinos for nothing," the Vice President stressed.

She issued the statement as her father and former president boarded the aircraft that reportedly had a flight plan from Manila to Dubai, to the Rotterdam Airport in the Netherlands.

‘Craziness’

The Vice President denounced the arrest of her father, quoting his ICC lawyer who called out its “craziness”.

“Kausap namin iyong ICC lawyer namin and sinabi nya (We talked to our ICC lawyer and he said), this has never happened before, and sinabi nya (he told) its craziness,” she said.

Duterte also stated that proper legal procedures were not followed when the ex-president was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), after arriving from Hong Kong.

“Hindi, hindi talaga, kasi nakalagay sa rules ng ICC (No, really no, because based on ICC rules) the defendant should be taken to a court—a local court. Iyong proseso natin dito sa loob iyon ‘yung masusunod (Our internal process here must be the one followed),” she said.

She blamed the Marcos administration for being responsible behind the ICC arrest of her father.

Unacceptable

For the Vice President, her father who was “forcibly taken” to The Hague only showed that the Philippines has become a “doormat” of a foreign country.

“Hindi ko rin naman magawa na iwanan ang ating dating Pangulo. Hindi dahil tatay ko siya, pero dahil hindi ko matanggap na nagiging doormat tayo ng mga dayuhan. I mean, iyong ganito lang tayo, malilit na mga tao kung ikumpara mo sa ibang bansa. Pero alam mo iyon, dapat may pride tayo ba (I was not able to leave the former president. It’s not because he’s my father, but because I can’t accept we are becoming a doormat of foreigners. As if we are like small people, but you know we need to have pride),” she said.

Related Tags

International Criminal Court Sara Duterte The Hague Rodrigo Duterte
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