Vice President Sara Duterte will be home in Manila after securing her father’s, former president Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team and the arrival of another next of kin in The Hague.

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 is currently in the Netherlands to assist his father, who was arrested last March 11, and taken there under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant on crimes against humanity of murder.

“Okay. So, I have not discussed the arrangements with next of kin and relatives here. I will discuss it with them tonight. And I will relay to them also what the president said and what the president wanted them to know,” she told reporters on Saturday, March 15 (Manila time).

“And so yes, we haven't made arrangements yet. But I will not leave until a relative comes to make sure that there is a next of kin living here,” she added.

The younger Duterte didn’t identify the next of kin she expects to arrive in the Netherlands, but Honeylet Avanceña, her father’s common-law wife, already refused to go with the former chief executive last March 11.

Her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, said that he will be applying for a Schengen visa to go to the Netherlands.

The Vice President shared that her father already asked her to go back to the Philippines, but she refused and told him that she needed to be there as she was the only one with a valid Schengen visa and is also a lawyer.

Interim release

Asked if her father will apply for an interim release, the Vice President said “that is something that I cannot comment on because it's a legal strategy.”

The official added that it is up to her father’s lawyers to answer that.

She had earlier announced that her father’s legal team would be comprised of lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, a member of the British Bar, as lead counsel, as well as former presidential spokesman Harry Roque, and former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea.

Under the Rome Statute, the 79-year-old Duterte, who is expected to raise his medical condition, can apply for interim release.

The ICC judges will decide on the application based on the suspect’s flight risk, risk of obstructing or endangering the investigation, and risk of recommitting the crimes he is accused of.

The ICC has not yet granted an interim release to suspects charged with crimes against humanity.

Presidential bid

Asked by one of their supporters if she plans to run as president in 2028, the Vice President responded if there will still be a Philippines by then.

“Ang fear ko, do we still have a country in 2028? With what is going right now, hindi ko alam, pero palubog nang palubog nang palubog ang Pilipinas (I do not know, but the Philippines is going down),” she said.

Her father had earlier claimed that his arrest will catapult his daughter to the presidency if she decides to run in 2028.

Resiliency

The Vice President also remarked on how purpose can be derived from the events of one’s life.

As an example, she shared that she still has a valid Schengen visa because she and her family attended a Taylor Swift concert in Munich, Germany. The concert was held in late July last year.

This is the reason why she was able to immediately fly to The Hague and be with her father.

But another thing that these recent events showed is her resiliency, she said.

“I think I would always say that I am a very resilient person,” she said, adding that people around her have been wondering why she hasn’t cried yet.

“I was always giving solutions to the problems that came up along the way so it made me more resilient and I think it’s preparing me for something bigger than what is happening right now,” she added.

‘Secure your valuables’

Duterte advised her family to secure their valuables in case a search warrant is done by authorities on their homes, and told them not to fight against it anymore.

“Yes, I heard about that. The search warrant applied for all the houses, all our houses, of all the members of the family. And I mentioned that to my siblings that you don’t have control over this anymore,” she said when she faced the media in The Hague on Saturday, March 15 (Manila time).

“So, I just told them that just secure your valuables and then just allow them to do the search and then we expect that there will be planted evidence inside the houses. So, I told them that we’ll just have to face that as well,” she added.

Duterte claimed that what’s happening to their family is the “template” done to dismissed congressman Arnie Teves, who is currently hiding in Timor-Leste amid multiple murder charges for the alleged killing of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and others.

“So, I told them that it's pointless to fight so just allow it to happen. It does not mean that search is illegal but I told them that no one should be hurt, no one should resist, just allow them to do whatever that is --- that isn’t illegal,” she said.

Her brother, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte, had earlier said that he received “verified information” that search warrants were issued on the former president’s home and his family.

This was denied by Police Regional Office-11 (PRO-11) spokesperson Police Major Catherine Del Rey.

SC

The Supreme Court will play a pivotal role in guiding the Philippine government on how to handle the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said.

According to Cayetano, the SC’s guidance would set legal precedence and help the public understand what to expect, especially when more arrest warrants will be issued by the ICC.

“The Supreme Court still has time, so we can all have proper guidance. It’s the confusion now that’s the killer,” Cayetano said in a recent interview.

“I’m hoping that by the time the ICC releases other warrants of arrest, there will be some guidance on paper,” he said.

Cayetano noted that the ICC's founding treaty, the Rome Statute, obliges all 124 member countries to arrest and transfer anyone with an ICC arrest warrant if they enter their territory. But enforcing this rule is challenging and depends on the willingness of these countries to cooperate.

In the case of the Philippines, he said any ICC action must operate within the bounds of the 1987 Constitution and Philippine laws.

“Once the SC releases a writ of habeas corpus, then it will be the duty of the Republic of the Philippines including the Department of Foreign Affairs and diplomatic efforts na to return the former president in the country,” he said.

“If the SC also says that the former president’s boarding on the airplane wasn’t lawful and that

they have to pass the local courts to validate the warrant, it will have a persuasive effect,” Cayetano stressed.

According to Cayetano, Duterte’s human rights should have been respected and that the local courts should have been allowed to decide.

“That's precisely what human rights is — it's available to everyone. And that's precisely what due process is. Part of it is having the availability of legal remedies,” he emphasized.

'Amateurish'

Deputy Majority Leader La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega said former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea came off “amateurish” during the first hearing of ex-president Duterte before the ICC at The Hague when his "drama" was cast aside by the judge.

“Hindi pupuwede ang mga theatrics ni Medialdea sa ICC (Medialdea's theatrics won't work at the ICC). The judge saw right through his statements. It even made him look amateurish when he tried to invoke political persecution instead of addressing the charges directly,” Ortega said in a statement Sunday, March 16.

Medialdea--one of the handful of people who accompanied Duterte to The Hague in the Netherlands following his arrest in Manila last March 11--served as counsel for the former leader.

“Tama na ang budolterte o pambubudol sa tao. Hindi ito eleksyon, hindi ito propaganda war, at mas lalong hindi ito fake news. Huwag gawing drama ang isang seryosong paglilitis,” added the pro-Marcos congressman. (Stop fooling the people. This is not an election, this is not a propaganda war, at most of all this isn't fake news. Let's not make a drama out of a serious trial.) (With Ellson Quismorio)