After two weeks in the hospital facility of the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he will be tried for crimes against humanity, former president Rodrigo Duterte is back in his room craving for a Coke Zero and closely following the May elections.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands following his March 11 arrest on a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. (Photos from AP, Veronica Duterte)
This was what Vice President Sara Duterte told supporters and reporters who gathered outside the Scheveningen Prison, where she visited her father on Saturday, March 22 (Netherlands time).
“Nandoon na siya sa kaniyang room, doon na siya mino-monitor ng kaniyang doctor and nurses (He is in his room there where he’s monitored by his doctor and nurses),” she said.
In fact, he’s already back in his room with a blood glucose monitor to check his blood sugar four times a day.
The only problem, she said, is he couldn’t be kept away from his favorite Coke Zero.
“Ang problema na lang natin ay hindi mapigilan ‘yung pag-inom niya ng Coke Zero (Our only problem is he cannot be stopped from drinking Coke Zero),” she told supporters outside the ICC detention facility.
The Vice President shared that she already brought four Coke Zero for her father and him that they should last him until Wednesday because that’s when his grocery will arrive.
The former president, however, argued why he was only allowed one Coke Zero per day when he takes three full meals each day, so she relented and told him he can drink two Cokes a day as she’ll be coming back on Monday to bring him more.
“Ang kanyang Coke Zero, make sure na mayroong unlimited supply (Make sure that his Coke Zero has unlimited supply),” Duterte told supporters who asked her how the former president was doing inside the facility.
Aside from Coke Zero, the Vice President said it looked like she has covered all bases as her father is now being served with rice inside the facility.
“But medyo mahina pa siya kumain kasi nga he's getting used to sa pagkain sa ulam. Kasi hindi Pilipino ‘yung ulam (He’s still not eating well because he’s getting used to the viand. It’s not Filipino food),” she shared.
“Pero meron ng rice at meron naman siyang access sa gatas at prutas. Iyon din ‘yung hinihingi niya noon. So okay naman siya (But he already has rice and he has access to milk and fruits. That’s what he was requesting. So, he’s okay),” she added.
Duterte also submitted a file of Filipinos recipes and asked her father’s lawyer to send it inside the facility to request if they can consider cooking some “simple” Filipino food for the former president.
No clothes
Duterte said that her father is also asking for more clothes as he kept on using the same ones.
“Sabi niya ipadala daw ‘yung maleta niya na nasa akin (He asked that his luggage be sent there),” she shared, adding that, “The clothes problem, I am planning to give him clothes regularly that you don’t need to wash, just throw it away.“
She also inquired if the former president was not feeling cold inside the facility because she noticed that he used to wear slippers during the first days but was wearing sneakers earlier instead.
May elections
The Vice President, the only one of the former president’s next-of-kin in The Hague, said that her father was mostly concerned about the upcoming May 2025 elections.
The former president was inquiring about the senatorial campaign for the Duterte-backed candidates, as well as his own mayoralty run in Davao City.
“At tinanong niya kung papaano siya makakabalik dahil nga meron din siyang eleksyon sa Davao City (He’s asking how he can return home because he has an election in Davao City),” Duterte said.
“At nag-express din siya ng fears niya, apprehensions niya, sa baka merong mangyaring dagdag-bawas, iyong mga ganoon na mga usapan sa eleksyon, sa halalan (He also expressed his fears, apprehensions, that there might be vote-shaving and vote-padding, those issues in the elections),” she added.
The former president is running as Davao City mayor, a post he held for more than 20 years, while his son, incumbent Mayor Sebastian Duterte, is his running mate.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier confirmed that the former president is still a mayoralty candidate despite being detained in The Hague for crimes against humanity of murder in connection with his administration’s bloody war on drugs campaign that killed thousands of mostly-poor Filipinos.