For the first time, Vice President Sara Duterte may have admitted that her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, might not return home from being detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, where he awaits trial for charges of crimes against humanity of murder.
 

Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, in The Hague, Netherlands. (ICC, AFP photos)

In a virtual press conference on Thursday, March 20, the official also said it is time for the country to “move on” and the people should decide where the country is going.
 

She made these remarks when asked about how she felt about National Security Adviser Eduardo Año—who was in the former president’s Cabinet—and his role in her father’s arrest last week.
 

“Sa totoo lang, wala talaga akong nararamdaman. Hindi ako galit, hindi ako disappointed (In truth, I feel nothing. I am not angry, I am not disappointed). Nothing at all,” Duterte said.
 

“Kasi pointless naman na mag-harbor ako ng feelings about what happened. Hindi na siya maibabalik. Hindi na mababalik si [dating] pangulong Duterte sa Pilipinas (Because it is pointless to harbor feelings about what happened. He will not return. [Former] president Duterte can no longer be brought back to the Philippines),” she added.
 

The former president was arrested last week and sent to The Hague via a chartered plane under an ICC arrest warrant executed by the Interpol and coordinated with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other key government agencies.
 

‘Move on’
 

Instead, the Vice President pointed out that the country should “move on.”
 

“So, what we should do as a country is move on from what happened. What will we do as our ways forward as a country and as a people from what happened?,” she asked.
 

For her, it is pointless to be angry because the government will not hold accountable those who arrested and sent her father to the ICC.
 

“Magalit man tayo, walang papupuntahan iyong galit natin dahil hindi naman ‘yan sila papanagutin ng pamahalaan eh (Even if we get angry, it is pointless because the government will not hold them accountable),” Duterte stressed.
 

“So, we should move forward from what happened and the country should decide, the people should decide saan ba tayo papunta base sa nangyari (where we are going based on what happened),” she added.
 

‘I’ll bow to it’
 

Meanwhile, former Palace spokesman Harry Roque insisted that she will defer to the Vice President when it comes to forming her father’s legal team.
 

This was amid Duterte’s announcement that both Roque and former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea will not be a part of her father’s defense counsels.
 

“Bahala po pumili ang [dating] president Duterte. Pero ako po ha, kung ayaw ni VP Sara at gusto ni VP Sara na iba ang mag-represent, ma’am, that's your call (It is up to [former] president Duterte to choose. For me, if VP Sara doesn’t want and VP Sara wants another to represent, ‘ma’am, that’s your call’),” Roque said in a Facebook video.
 

“Hindi ko naman ipagpipilitan ang sarili ko at kung ako irerequest ni PRRD, importante rin na iindorso ako at i-request din ako ni VP Sara... kasi talaga ako'y taga sunod ni VP Sara. At iyan po ay walang kaplastikan (I will not force myself even if PRRD requests for me, VP Sara’s endorsement is also important… I am just a follower of VP Sara. That’s not being two-faced),” he added.
 

Duterte earlier said that her father will have all foreign lawyers in his legal team.
 

While she did not elaborate on her reasons for dropping Roque, she explained that his status in the Netherlands remains uncertain as he seeks asylum after fleeing the Philippines last year despite a standing congressional warrant against him.